Raditz Returns
by the Prince's Jewel
Summary: It all started when Goku gave his brother a second chance. Now, Raditz is pregnant, and something is wrong with his brother.
1. Wished Back

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Just so you know, most of the italics (yeah, these things) are Raditz. And, of course, me no own.

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"NO!" He sat straight up, breathing labored, terror gripping him. It was several long moments before he managed to calm himself, to realize where he was. To remember. The stars hurtling past relaxed him, he sank back into the seat of the pod. He was safe, for the moment. Frieza was on his ship, he was on his way to the others. And close by, if he'd wakened.

The casual blow flung him across the room. He landed with a sickening crack, his arm shattering against the column. He bit back the cry of pain that threatened, levered himself to his feet. He would not go down so easily. A blur of blobby pink, his legs knocked from beneath him. His head hit the column, and everything went dark.

More blood poured from his wounds. He fought the pain, fought against the fog that surrounded his mind. He knew he was losing, knew he was no longer steady on his feet. A blow landed, he doubled up, folding over the fist planted deeply in his stomach. His armor shattered. Something else smacked against his head, flinging him away. He landed on something soft, tried dizzily to regain his feet, and failed. Blood ran into his eyes, obscuring his vision, but he could still feel. He cried out, a wordless scream of protest. A fist smashed into his face. Again, he sank into oblivion.

A heavy weight, too heavy. He couldn't breath. He scrabbled against the pink flesh above him, trying to escape the pain, trying to breath. Mocking, gentle laughter from the side. Someone watching? Enjoying his humiliation? He fought more desperately, wondering how he had managed to get into this situation. He was crushed, stars dancing in his eyes, pain lancing at him from every nerve. It hurt! He managed to get a good breath, one that was driven from him when the mass thrust against him again. His vision blurred, cleared, blurred again. Everything faded to gray.

He huddled in a corner of the room, trying to regain control of himself, to purge the fear from his mind. He was a Saiyan, dammit! He wasn't dead, so he was stronger. He was stronger. He had to be. He had to be… or they would keep coming for him. The door whisked open, and he looked up with raw terror in his eyes.

"Why in the world would you want to bring Raditz back?" Bulma asked. "He did try to destroy the world, you know. He wanted to kill me!"

Vegeta grinned. "That wouldn't have been so bad. I wouldn't be getting nagged about trash if he had."

"VEGETA!" Goku and Bulma both glared at his back. He faced the counter, looking out the window. Goku continued, "He's my brother, Bulma. I want to bring him back. I think… he deserves a second chance."

"Besides, he'd hardly pose a threat. Not with me here," Vegeta added. "He does what I tell him."

"He wouldn't pose a threat anyway. Goku would send him right back to Other World if he tried anything."

"Of course." Vegeta's tone was dry, the smile they hadn't seen wiped from his face. He hated being inferior to Kakarot. More training was in order. He couldn't be the weaker forever! He would grow stronger. He had to. He had to, or else… He shook his head, banishing the memories. "Do what you want, Kakarot. It would be nice to have another Saiyan around. Although, you might wish back a few females while you're at it."

Bulma's outraged screeching followed him clear to the gravity room.

_Training. He trained constantly. He was weak, he had to be strong. He had to be stronger. The lights in the corridor were dimming. Night cycle. His body tensed, but he tried to continue. The door opened, he turned. "Hello, boy. You look so pretty like that."_

"NO!"

He tossed restlessly, his dreams filled with all the horrors of his life on Frieza's ship. He had been a pet… Frieza's pet. But Frieza enjoyed torturing him, and both Zarbon and Dodoria had found him to their liking. The three had shared him more than once, had critiqued each others use of him. He remembered. He could still hear the mocking laughter that had accompanied his struggles to escape, the bones that they broke to keep him still. He remembered the times he spent in a regeneration tank after they took their pleasure in him.

He opened his eyes, unable to sleep. Walking to the window, he looked out. A lovely green meadow, bright with wildflowers. He heard the door open, ignored it in favor of the view. His tormentors were not on the ship, having gone to tend to a disciplinary matter. "It is a pretty view, isn't it?" His eyes widened, he looked over his shoulder.

"You aren't supposed to be here!"

"Please return my brother Raditz to life."

"That is all?"

"Yes. After that, you can go back to sleep."

"It shall be done." Eyes glowed for a long moment, then the dragonballs lifted and scattered when the dragon disappeared.

Goku looked around eagerly. This was the place where he and his brother had died. There! He moved quickly to the side of a silent figure. "Hi, Raditz! Welcome back!"

Raditz looked up slowly, taking in the clearing, the deep hole. He knew this place. He stood, brushing off the hands that tried to assist him. "Welcome back?"

"Yeah, you were dead. But I got Shenlong to bring you back."

Raditz blinked in confusion, looking at the speaker. This looked like his younger brother, but he was much more… grown. He looked older than Raditz remembered from the fight. "Shenlong?"

"The Eternal Dragon," Goku clarified. "Oh, come on. Vegeta is waiting." He tugged his brother's arm, babbling away a mile a minute as they walked.

Vegeta was waiting. That much, Raditz understood. He allowed his brother to pull him along, toward a group waiting at the edge of the clearing. He scanned them, trying to identify who stood there. His gaze fixed on one figure, and his mouth dropped open. "Prince Vegeta?" He hurried forward, sinking to one knee before the other. Yet, the prince seemed much, much older as well.

"Raditz."

"Oh, get up. You'll give him a swelled head."

"He's already got one of those."

Raditz looked up, amazed that Vegeta allowed the human women to get away with such insolence. "My… my prince?"

"Get up, Raditz. Bulma is annoying enough." A slight tip of his head indicated the blue-haired woman to his right. "And Kakarot's harpy is even worse."

"I… ah…" Raditz rose slowly, his gaze shifting in bewilderment between the small group.

"Raditz, this is my wife, Chi-Chi, and Bulma, Vegeta's wife," the mouth that had finally closed dropped wide open as incredulous eyes focused on Bulma, "my sons Gohan and Goten, and Vegeta's son Trunks."

"Pur… purple hair?" Raditz eyes darted to Bulma's blue and Vegeta's black hair, then back to Trunks' lavender locks.

"Got it from his grandfather," Vegeta said brusquely. "My daughter has her mother's hair."

"D… daughter?"

"Bra!" Vegeta called, then pointed a finger at the ground before him. A willowy, beautiful girl soon occupied the space. "My daughter."

"What is going on?" His stomach took that moment to roar alarmingly. Huge grins broke out on most of the faces, Vegeta just rolled his eyes.

"Dinnertime!" The blue-haired woman, Bulma, tossed something small into the air. A puff of smoke cleared to reveal several tables laden with food.

Raditz lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. This was… unreal. He couldn't be alive. He was dead. He remembered dying. He remembered the green man, Piccolo, firing that beam, remembered the pain as it tore through him. He remembered telling the Namek that the others had heard and were coming. He remembered laughing, remembered the foot that had crushed his throat. He remembered strangling on his own blood as he tried and failed to breathe. And even then, it had taken him time to die.

He was dead. But… he remembered the Namek saying that his brother wouldn't stay dead, that they would wish him back. And now that he thought about it, wasn't that part of what his brother had been babbling about? The Eternal Dragon… dragonballs. So… he was alive? Really alive?

"Raditz?" The soft voice on the other side of the door, that was his brother. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." The knob turned, the door opening quietly. His brother stepped into the room. "What do you want?"

"I thought maybe you had some questions?"

Questions? A million of them. "What if I do?"

Goku stepped hesitantly toward the bed. "I could maybe answer them? If you ask."

"Oh, sure. Why am I here?"

"I… thought you deserved a second chance. Frieza's gone, he's not controlling what you do anymore."

"Gone?" Raditz sat up. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, Trunks killed him. And his father. They can't bother us anymore. And, well, you're really no threat, so I thought maybe you deserved a second chance, without being controlled."

"No threat?"

"No. You're not strong enough to be a threat to the planet now."

"Not strong enough? It took you and that green demon to beat me the last time."

"I wasn't a super Saiyan then."

That took Raditz by surprise. "You… a super Saiyan? It's not possible!"

"Yes it is. Vegeta and Trunks, Gohan and Goten are all super Saiyans too."

"You lie!"

"I do not." Goku seemed to gather himself, then burst into golden flames. His hair changed, his eyes. Raditz scrambled backwards across the bed, and Goku dropped back to normal. "That's a super Saiyan. Neat, isn't it? You'll probably have to do a lot of training to reach that level."

"Show me. Again." Goku grinned, again changing to the green-eyed golden-haired form. Raditz crawled from the bed, circling his younger brother. His strength was almost palpable, shimmering and seeming to roll off him in waves. The glow around him lit the room. He reached out, unthinking, to trace his brother's spine, stopping just above where his tail should have been. "You still haven't got a tail."

"No." The golden aura faded, golden locks changing to black spikes in an instant. Goku turned to face his brother. "I almost envy you."

"Why?" The next moment, Raditz was on his knees, his tail in his brother's firm grasp. He gasped when his brother began stroking it. "What are you doing?"

"I envy you because you still have your tail. I miss mine, sometimes. But, then again, I like my moonlit outings with Chi-Chi, too!" Raditz moaned softly, and Goku looked down at him, startled. "Oh, hey! I'm sorry! I totally forgot about you not having trained your tail." He let go, to Raditz' immense relief. He crawled weakly back into his bed. "Do you have any other questions?"

"Not now." Raditz' voice was muffled by the pillow he'd burrowed into.

"Oh, okay. I'll see you in the morning, then."

Raditz heard the door open, close. Footsteps faded down the hallway. He lay curled in a ball, trembling. Had his brother no idea at all what he had just done? Not trained his tail… what had that meant? Could this weakness be trained away? He would ask Vegeta. Pain, yes. He knew about pain training, he'd begun it before his fatal trip to Earth. But the other? Was that trainable?

Vegeta snorted with amusement when Raditz put the rather stuttered question to him. Again, Raditz found himself on his knees. Vegeta stroked his tail familiarly, an envious gleam in his eyes. "My tail has never returned. I don't know why. It's been quite annoying, having it gone."

"It… doesn't seem… to bother… my… brother," Raditz gasped out.

"Your brother lost his tail when he was quite young. Voluntarily, if I understood the story."

Raditz' eyes glazed. "Who… why?" he managed finally.

Vegeta smiled. "Something about it being safer for the Earth. He has an inordinate fondness for this planet."

"Supposed… destroy…"

"Well, he didn't." Vegeta pulled Raditz' hair, forcing the other's head up. "A good thing, or I wouldn't have a home. You, my dear Raditz, would still be dead."

"Ve.. Vegeta!"

"Shh… quiet. I'm not hurting you, now, am I? No, I didn't think so." Vegeta's silky voice dropped lower. "I don't intend to hurt you at all."

Raditz, his hair still in Vegeta's tight grip, shuddered. "No…."

"Oh, yes…"

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His tail. His one weakness, the one he couldn't get strong enough to overcome. As a boy, he'd always succumbed to the pain that a tight grip caused. As he grew older, it was the gentle petting that had done him in. Zarbon in particular had enjoyed playing with his tail. What beatings couldn't accomplish, stroking his tail could. He had done everything he could think of, once even deliberately allowing an enemy to slice it off.

He'd been weak, after. He hadn't realized how weak he would be without his tail. His strength had lessened so dramatically! And the regeneration tank he'd had to recuperate in hadn't regenerated his tail. He'd been thankful, at first. He couldn't do the pain training without a tail, so wasn't going through the daily torture the other two did. And then, Dodoria had realized what had happened.

He'd had the strength to keep Dodoria off him for a time before his unwise decision. But now, without his tail, he found himself unable to put up even a token fight. Dodoria had enjoyed his time with the tailless Saiyan. Each visit was worse than the last, and he often found himself in a regeneration tank when he woke. When his tail finally grew back, it had taken Dodoria an entire fifteen minutes to subdue him.

But Zarbon had been there. He had watched the fight, mocking Dodoria for taking so long to get his prize. Dodoria, having finished with him, offered to let Zarbon prove how quickly he could subdue the ravaged boy. It had taken Zarbon less than fifteen seconds to have the young Saiyan begging to be used in any way Zarbon wished.

Vegeta trained furiously, but his mind was elsewhere. Could that particular weakness be controlled? It had taken years to gain the pain tolerance he had. The pain tolerance he'd once had, he amended, and blew a training bot to smithereens. His tolerance for pleasure… He'd never thought to try to gain a tolerance for that.

Raditz had said that his brother had stroked his tail as if such a familiarity was nothing at all, then apologized for having forgotten that Raditz hadn't trained his tail. Had Kakarot been tolerant of petting before he'd given up his tail? Was it possible? Could he have trained himself to ignore even that?

His eyes flickered briefly, memories mocking him. If he had, then Kakarot was a greater rival than he had ever believed, though they were now more like friends. He would have to ask.

"WHAT?"

Vegeta repeated himself patiently, not surprised that the baka needed it repeated, and then explained. Kakarot blinked. And blinked again.

"Really? Wow. I had no idea!" Goku grinned, his hand behind his head, embarrassment plain for anyone to see. "I guess I better apologize to Raditz. I didn't know I was doing _that_!"

"You didn't know? How could you not know? How old were you when you lost your tail?"

"Um, I'm not real sure. I was… fifteen? Yeah, fifteen when I got my tail trained so that people grabbing it didn't bother me. I don't think it could have been all that much later…" Goku frowned, trying to remember. "Around twenty? Maybe?"

"Baka."

"I know. I'm real sorry I can't remember, Vegeta."

"Don't let it concern you, Kakarot."

"Okay!" He smiled, the smile that almost made Vegeta want to smile back at him.

"How could you not know what you were doing to me!" Raditz cried. "How could you possibly not know? Didn't anyone ever do that to you?"

"Well, Chi-Chi did a few times. It never really bothered me, though."

Raditz facefaulted. "Never really bothered you?" he repeated dumbly.

"Yeah. I mean, it felt nice, but it wasn't all that big a deal."

Not all that big a deal. Raditz laid out in the sun, his training over for the moment. How could such a thing be not all that big a deal? Nothing affected Saiyans the way any handling of their tails did. How had his brother managed to train himself so that not even stroking and petting caused much reaction?

He turned his head, looking at his own tail lying curled in a patch of sunlight. Thick, brown hair glistened in the sun, shiny with health. He could remember when it hadn't always been so. A Saiyan's health was also easily discernable by the state of his tail. And Raditz knew of times when his tail had been dull, brittle, and thin. Those were times he didn't want to remember.

Raditz rolled onto his stomach, pillowing his head in his arms. Why would his brother wish him back? There was nothing to do here. Oh, well, training, but even that palled after awhile. And it wasn't like he would meet and mate some human female. He snorted, still finding it hard to believe that his prince, of all Saiyans, had done exactly that.

Footsteps approaching, light and quick. One of the females that haunted this place. He ignored her, until she settled beside him, his tail in an intimate grip. "Ah?" He turned to look. "You!"

"I never had a tail," Bra said, calmly stroking his. "This feels nice, like petting a kitten. Do you purr?"

"Purr?" Raditz yelped, trying to figure out how to get away from her before her father came looking for him.

"I've heard Daddy purr, you know," she said in a perfectly conversational tone. "And Trunks and Goten. They make each other purr. It's kind of funny, cause Daddy hates it when they're together."

"Together?" She couldn't mean they were mates?

"Yes. They're best friends, always trying to outdo each other - especially where girls are concerned. They don't seem to notice how they make each other happier than any girls they've ever gone out with." She circled the base of his tail with a fingernail.

"Don't! Gods, stop it!" Raditz gasped. She was his Princess. He couldn't… wouldn't… His mind buzzed, a low rumble emerging from his throat.

"Ah, so you do purr." She pushed him down easily when he tried to move. "No, just stay there. I might be the weakest demi, but I'm still stronger than you are. Besides, Daddy said this would be good for your training."

Raditz froze, his mind splintering.

"I can't. I can't go back there."

"But Vegeta was training you, wasn't he?"

"He… no. He wasn't."

"Oh." Goku frowned. "I could have sworn he told me he had come up with a way to help you with that tail thing."

Raditz shuddered, curled up on his bed. "Why did you bring me back?"

"You deserved a second chance. I told you."

"No, no. Why now? Why not before? Right after Frieza died? Why wait so long? You're older than I am now!"

"Oh. Well…" Goku grinned. "I didn't think of it before."

"Figures," Raditz muttered. He'd learned quite a lot about his brother in the last few days. His brother was a total innocent, overly optimistic, and had a tendency toward not thinking. The happy smile rarely left his face. Raditz thought him a nincompoop, a feeling that Vegeta obviously shared. The fact that he was stronger didn't ever keep Vegeta from calling him a clown or baka, though. "Why not wish for your tail back?"

"Why would I do that? I don't need it."

"Don't need!" Raditz sprang from the bed, getting into his brother's face. "How can you say you don't need your tail!!!!"

"But, I don't, Raditz!" Goku protested, backing off a little, hands warding. "Honest! What would I do with it? I've lived for years and years without it, I can manage just fine."

"Manage? Fine? Without your tail? What kind of a Saiyan are you?" Raditz shouted.

"But, I'm an Earthling…" Goku said quietly. "I'm only Saiyan because I was born one. I was raised an Earthling."

Raditz fell back against the bed. He stared at his younger brother. "You don't know what you're saying."

"Yes, I do. My Saiyan heritage has never meant anything to me. Vegeta and I were the only ones left, until I revived you. Our children are a different breed altogether. Demi-Saiyans, half-breeds. The history of the planet Vegeta and the people that lived there mean nothing to us. I was there only a very short time, the kids never were there. Why would that matter to us? We're Earthlings."

"Why did you wish me back?" Raditz shook his head, his long hair falling to hide his face. "I'm a Saiyan. Why wish me to Earth, to customs I don't know or understand, to family that doesn't care about who or what I am? To a Prince who is prince in name only, who has given up his pride in his people. Why bring me here?"

Goku stared at his older brother a long moment, baffled. His brother sounded defeated. But, shouldn't he be enjoying this second chance, enjoying the fresh air, the chance to spar, fish, and hunt? He moved slowly closer to the bed, dropping to sit next to the other man. "Raditz? Don't you like being alive? Would you rather be dead?"

A shudder shook the other's body, Goku wrapped one arm around his shoulders. "Raditz? Did I do a bad thing?" To his surprise, his tough, vicious older brother went to pieces on him.

He woke slowly, numbly realizing he wasn't alone in bed. His tail was tightly curled around the other's thigh of someone cuddled against him. This had been his choice, then? He couldn't remember. He brushed one hand down the man's side.

"You awake?"

"Yeah."

"Feel better?"

Raditz thought about it, absently stroking his brother's side, his tail unwinding to stroke his thigh. He felt the shiver, heard the quick intake of breath. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Good." Goku reached down, captured his brother's tail. He held it a moment, then smoothed the thick fur. Raditz sighed with pleasure, his own hand sliding across Goku's stomach. "Hey, stop that!" Goku squirmed suddenly, and hopped from the bed. "I'm ticklish!"

"Ticklish?" Raditz pushed himself up on one elbow, watching as his brother hurriedly yanked on his shirt. "You could handle people petting your tail, but you're ticklish?"

"Don't tell Vegeta, okay?" Goku blushed. "He'd give me grief about it forever."

"Riiiight. And I won't?" Raditz got up, moving slowly and purposely toward his unwary brother. "Gotcha!" He pounced, knocking Goku to the floor, tickling him unmercifully. Goku yelped, then began squirming, trying to escape his brother's tormenting fingers. Raditz grinned, true pleasure gleaming through his eyes. "You can't get away, little brother," he purred.

"Bet me!" Goku grabbed wildly, one hand capturing his brother's tail, the other tangling in the long, thick hair. He use the former as a distraction and the latter to pull his brother closer, effectively pinning his hands. "I'll be able to get away from you."

Raditz went limp, completely at Goku's mercy. "I told you I could take you." Goku grinned, squirming his way to a point where he was able to push Raditz off himself. But his grin vanished when his brother's hair fell away from his one side of his face. Tears were escaping from tightly squeezed eyes, jaw clenched. "Raditz? Raditz? Did I hurt you? Are you all right?" Goku brushed Raditz' thick mass of hair back, causing the other to turn sharply to try to hide in it again. "Raditz?"

"Let…go."

"Let go?" Goku frowned, and placed a hand gently on his brother's shoulder. "Raditz? What are you talking about?"

"Please… let me go… let me go. I'll do anything you want… just let me go…"

"Raditz?" Goku sat back, confused. He wasn't even touching his brother now, and still he was pleading, literally pleading, to be released. "I don't understand. What's wrong?"

"Any thing. I'll do whatever you want. Let me go, Zarbon… please. Don't do this to me…"

Goku gasped. Zarbon? He knew the name. Krillen and Bulma had told him of Zarbon. "Zarbon's dead, Raditz. Vegeta killed him. Come on, this isn't funny."

His brother's voice weakened, becoming almost childlike. "It hurts, Zarbon! Please stop, please… don't do this. Not again, please. Anything else, please. Don't do this…" He moved, his body arcing in remembered pain, his mind lost somewhere in his past, continuing to plead.

Goku shook him, trying to snap him out of it. His brother was pausing now and again, almost as if listening to someone. What had happened? Was he… reliving something? The shaky voice continued to plead, to beg, to promise. Goku almost got sick when after one of the pauses, his brother cried out "I'm begging, Zarbon, like you asked. Don't hurt me!" The way his brother was thrashing, there was no doubt in the gentle Saiyan's mind as to what had happened.

What could he do? Frantic now to break his brother from the memory, he smacked him. The pleading only shifted to a breathless whimper, asking if he wasn't begging enough. Goku smacked him, resorted to pounding on him, to no avail. His brother had his eyes wide open now, but apparently was so caught up in the memory, that he couldn't see the present.

He gathered Raditz against him, muffling the begging against his shoulder. His brother still spasmed in pain, arcing and twisting as if to avoid someone. Tears streamed from Goku's eyes, as he clutched at his brother, sharing the long-unvoiced agonies. He crooned softly, gentle encouragements to forget the past and return to the here and now.

At long last, his brother stilled, his pleadings breaking into soft sobs. Goku ran his hands through Raditz' mass of hair, along his sides, down his back. "I'm here, Raditz. Zarbon won't ever, ever hurt you again. I promise he can't."

He'd been weak. Too weak. His brother pitied him. Pitied! Raditz spun, his hair swinging around him as he roundhoused an unfortunate tree. It went down, he proceeded to break it down to basic components. He didn't need that baka's pity! His strength, now, that was another matter. He'd seen Goku spar with Vegeta, had watched as the two went from one stage of super Saiyan to another, until his brother's hair was as full and long as his own, though a brilliant gold. His brother was stronger than their prince. That strength, he intended to achieve for himself. He would not be pitied! He would not.

Memories washed over him. He'd had to relive, time and again, those horrible experiences. That had been his punishment, his fate, for the evil that he had done. Even now, even alive, he couldn't put the past behind him. He lived the past in his dreams, as he had lived it in his death. Zarbon, Dodoria… Frieza. Over and over. Raditz crashed to the ground, screaming, not able to hear his own cries over the memories he couldn't stop.

The foolish move, allowing the enemy to take his tail. The many times he was caught in the training room, the times they had left the ship, only to return unexpectedly. He remembered them all. All. Even the worst time. The one time he hadn't fought. The time he had thought it best to do as they said. Tears streamed from his eyes, his screams soundless now, as awareness of his surroundings faded.

_"Such a pretty thing, your prince. You'd spare him, wouldn't you? Spare him from me?" The glint of malice in Frieza's eyes. "You know how I like my pleasure. Perhaps you could please me enough to keep your prince from my bed, little boy."_

"Frieza!" The prince stood next to Frieza, a stunned expression on his face, not believing what their master was saying. Raditz had only hours before told him of this possibility - he remembered the prince saying he was foolish. "The prince, he's just a child!"

"So were you, Raditz. Come, decide. Will you spare your prince our pleasure?" Frieza gestured, Dodoria and Zarbon stepping from the shadows. "You will please us all, won't you? Or do you really want the boy to have such an experience at so tender an age?"

Raditz knew it was foolish. But he had_ to protect the prince. No matter the cost to himself. It wasn't the first time. He had always fought them before. Always tried to escape. But now, now he needed to do anything in his power to protect the prince. If it meant surrendering his body, well…His arms lowered slowly to his sides as his head dropped. "I will do as you say."_

Goku went after him two days later. He washed away the dirt, grime, and blood, patched the wounds. He fed Raditz, and put him to bed. "Rest and heal. You're as bad as Vegeta. Neither one of you ever take the time to rest and heal. You won't gain as much strength if you don't." He smoothed back a shaggy spike. "I know how much it means to you to get stronger. So rest, and let yourself heal properly. Then go out and train some more."

"Hey, Dad? You going to Capsule Corp. today?" Goten stood in the doorway.

Goku rose from the bed. "Yeah, sure. Vegeta and I are supposed to spar. You want to go find out about Trunks' new girl, don't you?" He ruffled his son's hair. Raditz listened to their inane chatter as they proceeded down the hall.

He sighed. Rest and heal? Did Kakarot actually think that Saiyans did such things? He forced himself to his feet, across to where his clothes lay. It was a struggle to put them on, more of a struggle to get down the stairs. Where was his brother's wife? Nowhere in sight. He crossed to the front door, and levitated unsteadily.

"I thought I told you to rest up. Honestly, Raditz, you'll get a lot stronger a lot quicker if you do. I don't train myself to oblivion and then go right back out. And you know how strong I am. Take the time to heal up, or at least nap for about an hour. Your training isn't any good if you don't take care of yourself. And today's a real good day to take naps. Chi-Chi had to go grocery shopping. She won't be back for hours."

Raditz brightened a little. His brother's wife was a shrill nag. A few hours of peaceful, unbroken sleep might not be a bad idea. The gods knew he didn't sleep well when the woman was at home. If she wasn't nagging her husband or youngest son, she was cleaning or cooking as noisily as possible. And her mating cries… Raditz shuddered. Yes, sleeping now and training then had just taken on a whole new appeal. "I see your point."

"Good! Well, I'll be back before the sun sets. Anyway, I should be," Goku amended. "Spars with Vegeta, you never know how long those will last."

"Yeah. Whatever." Raditz dropped to the ground, returned to the bedroom he'd been given.

"How is your brother's training going?" Vegeta growled out, trying to push Goku back.

"Ah, fine, I guess. He wore himself to the bone this last time." Goku twisted, sending Vegeta tumbling. "Why?"

"He hasn't been by the gravity room lately," Vegeta replied, as soon as he'd stopped his freefall spin. "Or getting that extra training he asked for."

Goku dodged the energy blast Vegeta shot at him, and zipped behind the other, capturing him. "Oh, about that," he nipped at the captured prince, "he really, really has some issues that need resolved before you sic Bra on him again."

"Baka! Don't bite me!" Vegeta twisted and turned, finally managing to get an elbow into Goku's side. He wrenched himself free when Goku yelped. "What issues?"

"Something to do with Zarbon. Something bad." Goku dropped to normal when Vegeta went white and nearly fell to the ground. He followed him down. "Vegeta?"

Vegeta's voice was tight. "Zarbon had a penchant for young males, Kakarot."

"I thought that was what it was," Goku said quietly. "I was afraid that was it. The way he acted that day…"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember that day on Namek? The day Frieza killed you. Remember how you were right before you died? He was like that, reliving the hell he'd been through. But he was reliving an actual memory, and I couldn't break him out. Every word he said then, I heard. It didn't make any sense that it could be anything else, but I hoped… I don't know what I hoped."

"What triggered it?"

"Huh?" Goku settled cross-legged to the ground. "I'm not really sure. He found out something about me, and just went with it. He was having fun, I was trying to get away from him." Goku's arms crossed, his hands protecting his sides. He didn't notice Vegeta's sudden interest, or the sly grin that made its way to the older Saiyan's face. "I grabbed his tail, I knew that was his weak spot. And I pushed him off me." Goku waved his hands. "That's it."

"Really?"

The tone was all the warning Goku got before Vegeta attacked, fingers digging into the unprepared man's sides. "Ah! No! Help!" Goku twisted and turned, trying both to protect himself and get away, but too breathless from laughter to do anything much. "Stop it, Vegeta! Please! Oh, stop!"

Vegeta merely grinned, and pinned the younger man firmly beneath him, his fingers alternately digging and sweeping lightly along Goku's sides. Goku shrieked for mercy, trying to capture Vegeta's hands or buck the prince off. He failed at both, finding his own hands pinned over his head, Vegeta leaning over him, his free hand still brushing against the ticklish Saiyan's sides. "Oh, no, Kakarot. You should know by now that I don't believe in mercy."

Goku twisted, arcing off the ground as much as he was able. "Pretty please, Vegeta?" He put on his best begging face, the one even his wife couldn't resist. "Pretty, pretty please?"

Vegeta smiled, one of the rare true smiles. His eyes darkened as he twisted to keep Kakarot pinned down, without letting up on the tickling. "Oh, I don't think so. I'm winning."

"This isn't a fair fight!" Goku yelped, and tried smashing his head into Vegeta's. Vegeta merely dipped his head, so that Goku didn't do anything worse than squash his hair.

"No, this is a tickle war. Which, not being ticklish, I will win," Vegeta replied smugly. "Shall I find out where else you're ticklish?"

"NO!!!!"

"Ah, so there are other places!" Vegeta smirked. "Here, maybe?" He lowered his mouth to the other's neck, trailing his tongue along corded muscle. Goku's yelp and the spasm that ripped through his body was all the inducement he needed to continue that particular torture. "I think I'm actually enjoying myself," he purred into the other's ear. "And I owe you a bite."

Goku lurched when Vegeta bit him. But instead of trying to push the prince away again, he turned his head so that the older man had more access. He moaned, a sudden surge of primal vocalization.

"Oh, so you liked that?" Vegeta laughed softly, pulling Goku's already ripped shirt off. "Do you like this?"

What had that been about? One minute, he was being tickled, the next… Goku sighed, tipping his head back. The waterfall rained over him, rinsing the few thoughts he had away as he merely enjoyed the feel of the water flowing over him. Vegeta had been different since he'd wished Raditz back, but he had never expected such playful, erotic behavior from the man.

He shivered, suddenly realizing just how cold the water was. It wasn't normally so cold at this time of year, was it? It didn't seem like it, until he looked around. For the first time, he realized the leaves on the trees were putting on a beautiful fall display. Odd. It wasn't like him to miss the changing of the seasons. He had always been attuned to such things before. Was his brother's presence in his life really effecting him that much? So much that he hadn't noticed how much time had passed? He bit his lip, chewing on it. What else had he missed, caught up as he had been?

More grey in his wife's hair, his youngest son nearly as tall as he was, now. He ate slowly that evening, noticing the little changes that Chi-Chi had made to the house. How had he missed so much? Was he slipping? Could it be that Vegeta had gotten the drop on him this afternoon because he was getting careless about noticing things?

His brother entered, taking a chair at the table. Goku passed the potatoes, realizing that he was very, very aware of his brother, and the changes in him. Perhaps it was only that his attention had been too centered on his brother, and not enough on other things. Yet, he wasn't actually around Raditz that much.

Chi-Chi served Raditz in silence, something Goku recognized now as her habit. She barely ever spoke to his elder brother, and Goku resolved to find out why that night. Raditz wasn't a bad man anymore, and if it was about the kidnapping, well, that had happened years and years ago! If she was still holding a grudge for that, she really needed to get over it.

He laid in his bed, on his side. He could see the stars out the window. How many of them held abandoned Saiyans? His younger brother had been sent off to subdue this planet. How many others were out there? How many were the only living beings left on planets they'd been sent to raze? There had to be others, didn't there? He'd asked Vegeta before, and Vegeta had told him Frieza had destroyed them all.

But he had missed Kakarot.

So, did that mean that he could have missed others? Perhaps females? Raditz rolled to face the door, pillow over his ears. Not that it blocked the cries of Kakarot's woman. Steel walls wouldn't block that female's screams. But the nightly matings his brother enjoyed only emphasized his own loneliness, and made him wonder. Frieza had been powerful, not perfect.

He flopped again, his hands now firmly over his ears. It didn't help, she was obviously near her climax. This ritual would repeat perhaps four or six more times before she would finally fall silent. He'd already heard it three times. How could the boy sleep through it? Even after… what had it been, eight months?… he was still unable to sleep through the woman's racket.

"Hey, Uncle Raditz?"

So he was wrong. The brat wasn't asleep. "What?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure. It's not like I can sleep."

Chi-Chi hit a high note, and both Saiyans clapped hands to ears. "Yeah, she can be pretty noisy."

"Why are you up? I thought you slept through that."

"Usually. But… I want to know… um, well…" Goten perched on his uncle's bed. "It's um… just that, well, I…" He blew at his bangs. "Oh, hell, I don't know how to ask. I can't think of how to phrase what I need to know."

"Saiyans didn't have any sexual hang-ups. I hope that helps?"

Even in the dark, Raditz could see the boy's blush. "Is it that obvious?"

"To me, and to his father. We know the signs. Besides, I have a very good sense of smell." If he wasn't mistaken, the boy's blush got worse.

"You mean, you know?"

"It would have been hard to miss. You go to visit him to talk about girls, and come home smelling of him and frustration. And when you come out of your room, you smell of release."

"Oh, gods." Goten's voice was choked. "You knew about _that_?"

"Like I said, it was hard to miss."

The boy buried his face in his hands. Raditz wasn't entirely sure if he was crying or laughing. More than likely, both. Embarrassment could do that. So could fear. "I thought I was crazy."

"I've noticed a certain… dislike of such matings," Raditz offered. Maybe the boy's rather amusing problem could keep his mind off his own problems.

"Well, yeah," Goten said in surprise. "It's not normal, you know."

"I didn't, actually. I've had several male partners." He firmly steered his mind from the ones he hadn't chosen. "Like I said, Saiyans haven't got sexual hang-ups. With the possible exception of Kakarot."

"Does… does it hurt?"

The hesitant question set off a series of painful memories Raditz really didn't want to deal with. His clipped, "It can," seemed to end the conversation. Yet Goten remained on his bed.

"Um, Uncle Raditz?"

"What?"

"Could you… teach me?"

Raditz bolted upright. "Ah, what?"

"Could you teach me?" Goten mumbled, obviously embarrassed.

Raditz reached out and turned on the bedside light. He examined the young man in its light. "You want me to fuck you?"

Goten's face became even more red, and he twisted the hem of his T-shirt nervously. "No… I mean… I want you to teach me what to do. With Trunks."

Well. How unexpected. A grin formed. He couldn't wait to see his brother's face.

"But I don't know anything about that!" Goku wailed. "That's Saiyan stuff. I don't know about it. I haven't got any memories of being a Saiyan! Just an Earthling. Besides, I only know about Chi-Chi!"

"You're the boy's father. You have to teach him what he needs to know." The jab to the jaw was more effective than Raditz had anticipated. He knocked Goku from the sky. "Besides, it's not that hard a subject."

"Oh yeah? When was the last time you had to explain sex to a boy?"

"Vegeta was five. I was fifteen." Raditz landed lightly beside his brother, burying his booted foot in Goku's unprotected side.

"That was a very long time ago." Goku wheezed as soon as he had breath enough. "Why would you need to explain sex to a five-year-old, anyhow?"

Raditz stepped out of his fighting stance, dropping to the ground next to Goku. "Because this was a Saiyan on a hostile ship. A Saiyan child, extremely strong, but not as powerful as other fighters."

Goku took time to think that over. "Zarbon had a penchant for young boys."

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Vegeta told me." Goku looked straight at his brother. "How many times did you take his place, to spare him from that?"

"Only once."

"Once?!"

"And when they finished with me, I had to watch as they took him. Nappa and I would have done anything to protect him, we tried." Raditz' voice was strained, his eyes dark with remembered pain. "I let them take me that time, didn't fight what they did. I did everything they asked, and they still raped him. I never let them take me again without a fight. Zarbon, though…. Zarbon could have me begging him to torture me. I was a favorite of his." Raditz looked up, expecting to see the pity in his brother's eyes. Instead, he saw smoldering rage.

An anger belied by the rather frantic, "But what do I tell Goten? He isn't in that kind of a situation!"

"Would you have me talk to him instead?"

"Well, you'd at least know what you were talking about!" Goku clapped a hand over his mouth, then reached out to Raditz. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… I didn't mean it that way."

"It's all right. Don't worry about it."

"You actually let her strip you at the _park_?" Goten's eyes widened.

"Sure. I figured it might be fun."

"Fun?" A pause. "Was it?"

"Sure!" Trunks laughed. Then he frowned. "Well, not really. Not now that I think about it. It was like she had one intention, and my clothes were just in her way. There wasn't any… style to it. Just rush and hurry."

"Huh." Goten leaned back against the headboard of Trunks' bed. Trunks still wore the suit he'd worn to work that morning. "Hey, can I try?"

"Try what?"

"Well, you have to change clothes anyway, don't you? So, how about I see if I can make it more fun than that girl did?"

"Changing clothes?" Trunks reached into a dresser, yanking out a favorite T-shirt.

"No, I want to strip you."

Trunks laughed, a cheerful peal, bright and happy. "Oh, you do? Well, it wouldn't be the first time, now would it?"

"Nope." Goten walked up behind Trunks, looping his arms around his waist. "So? Will you let me?"

"Don't I always?"

"So? What did she do first?"

"Loosened the tie. Which I would actually appreciate." Goten chuckled, and deliberately tightened it. Trunks yelped, yanking Goten's hands away and tossing the tie across the room. "Not funny, luv!"

A pang shot through Goten, and he rested his head against Trunks back, his hands loose on the other's arms. "No, I guess not." He moved his hands to Trunks', laced their fingers. "Are you mad?" He nuzzled against the back of Trunks' neck.

"I never seem to be able to stay mad at you." They faced the mirror, Trunks' smile reflecting back to Goten. "And you know it. You've all your daddy's charm."

Goten snickered, running his hands lightly to Trunks' shoulders. "And you've all your father's."

"My dad doesn't have any charm," Trunks protested, as Goten began pushing the jacket from his shoulders. "Did you just insult me?"

"Who, me?" Goten asked innocently, a huge grin on his face. "Never. I would never ever do such a thing to the president of Capsule Corporation. Why, I could lose my job for it!" The jacket dropped to the floor, both of them laughing now. Goten started on the buttons on Trunks' shirt. "And then I wouldn't have any money to buy you any presents."

"Idiot," Trunks laughed. He leaned against the younger man, grinning when Goten had to shift in order to stay standing. "You're not getting weak, are you?"

"No." Goten ran one nail lightly up from the button he was working on to Trunks' chin, and slowly back. "How could you even think such a thing?"

Trunks trembled slightly at the other's playfulness, but laughed at the overly wounded tone he used. "Oh, Goten!" And then he stumbled slightly when Goten slipped around to face him. "Hey! I was leaning on you, you know."

"I noticed." Goten glared at the button that had been resisting his efforts to undo it, causing Trunks to go into whoops of laughter. Goten flicked his friend's nose, then finished off the button.

"Hey! I like this shirt! Go fetch my button!" Trunks pointed in the direction the erring button had flown.

"You hate this shirt, you've told me so before." Goten slid his hands into the loosened shirt, caressing the bare skin beneath. "But, if you really want me to?" One hand moved to loosen the belt.

"No, you don't have to." Trunks grinned, enjoying the feeling of Goten's skin against his own. It wasn't the first time the younger man had helped him out of his clothes, but it was the first time he was trying to outdo a girl. He closed his eyes, concentrating on Goten's touch, comparing this experience to the one he'd had the night before. After all, he would have to give Goten his opinion!

Goten unthreaded the belt, tossing it to one side, unfastened the pants. He pulled the shirt loose, running his hands gently around Trunks' waist. His hands wandered, exploring the planes of his stomach, then across his chest to his shoulders, pushing the shirt down his friend's arms. He hadn't unbuttoned the wrists, though, and left Trunks caught in the mostly removed shirt as he kissed along the route his hands had taken.

Trunks shuddered, not really believing that he was so aware of Goten's touch, his kisses. His eyes opened, closed, a soft moan escaping him when Goten traced his tongue across the sensitive skin of his stomach. He felt the shirt fall away, felt the soft pressure of Goten's kneeling body against his legs.

Goten's hands slid down his legs, pushing his pants away. He gasped at the sudden shock of delicate, butterfly kisses trailed along his shaft, yielding himself to the pleasure that coursed through him when the young man circled him with his tongue. Tiny bites, gentle caresses and kisses, the warm wetness of Goten's mouth engulfing him. Trunks head lolled, and he gripped Goten's bare shoulders, struggling to stay upright against the pleasure.

Goten drew back. "So?" His voice was thick, nearly breathless.

"Don't stop." Trunks swayed toward him, voice laden with desire. "Don't stop."

Goten ran one finger along Trunks' shaft. "You don't want me to stop?"

"No." Blue eyes nearly black with passion opened, looking down at him. "No, don't stop."

Goten leaned forward, just close enough to breath on the other. "I won't." He stood , pressing himself close to Trunks, licking and nipping at his neck. Trunks leaned against him, caught in the prison of his passion.

"I want more." His hands slid down Goten's back, he pulled the younger Saiyan closer.

"You'll have it," Goten murmured, guiding Trunks to the bed.

Trunks stretched, trying not to wake the sleeping Goten. The experience had been unreal. He hadn't expected Goten to do more than get his clothes off, the way they'd done to each other before, demonstrating how some girl had totally spoiled the mood. He'd not really paid attention when Goten had said he'd make it more fun. The mere fact the two of them had been laughing together had made it more fun than last night's drunk girl.

But the caresses… Trunks brushed a wisp of hair from Goten's face. Once he'd allowed himself to get caught up in actually feeling what Goten was doing, once Goten had gotten more intimate than they had ever been, he'd been lost to all else. He hadn't wanted his friend to stop, hadn't cared Goten wasn't a girl. He'd asked for more, and gotten more than he ever bargained for.

Sleepy black eyes blinked at him, a tiny smile. "Morning."

"Shh, luv, go back to sleep," Trunks whispered. "It's not morning yet. Just a full moon."

"Mmm." Goten snuggled against Trunks, rather pleased with himself, and delighted that Trunks allowed the intimacy. "Kiss me?"

Trunks ran his fingers through Goten's wild locks, using them to tug his head back. Their kiss was sweet, innocent. "Go to sleep, luv."

"'kay." Goten yawned, seeming to fall asleep instantly.

"My advice help, boy?" But the leer on his face made it obvious his uncle knew. Goten flushed.

"Ah, yeah. Seen my dad?"

"He's with your mom. Bedroom."

"Oh, ah, I don't want to bother them."

"She's sick, no big deal. You won't be interrupting anything."

"Sick?" Goten blinked. He couldn't remember the last time his mother had been sick. "Uh, 'scuse me."

"Sure, kid." Raditz watched him race for the stairs. "I have something I need to do anyway." He walked out the door, then took to the air. He'd finally learned how to sense power without a scouter, and there was a nagging tingle he wanted to check out. Several of them, actually. He flew leisurely toward Capsule Corp., finally feeling secure enough to venture back there. Although, he did intend to be on his guard. He was running at the first sight of the princess.

Naturally, she was the one to open the door. He blinked, his tail tightening around his waist. "Ah… no training today, got it?"

"Oh, I'm going shopping. Nothing, absolutely nothing, stands between me and a mall without getting damaged."

"She means it you know," the lavender-haired prince agreed from behind his sister. "Better move, or she'll plow you under. Dad actually tried to stop her once… he was in the mall before he knew it."

Raditz stepped aside. Bra grinned, and planted a kiss on the surprised Saiyan's cheek. "Good boy. Now, I don't expect to be back for hours and hours, and you can tell Daddy that if he asks." She sailed out the door, a tiny capsule popping into a sleek sports car. Another popped near it, an air car.

Trunks stepped up to the air car, then turned suddenly. "Ah, Raditz? Thanks." He stepped into the car, vanishing before Raditz had a chance to answer him.

He entered the house grinning. Apparently, Trunks was happy with the new arrangement. But, it was those nagging tingles that were bothering him, and he wanted to ask Vegeta about them.

"Dragonballs." Bulma turned to tap points on a large wall map. "Your tingles seem to correlate to the positions of the seven dragonballs."

"But I thought they got used."

"Oh, they're active again a year after use. Six months if all the wishes aren't used. Come to think of it, Goku left two wishes. That must be why you've been feeling them for awhile. There's wishes left."

Raditz nodded thoughtfully, his eyes on the dragon radar Bulma held. He could wish to bring any other missed Saiyans here. She followed his gaze. "Have a wish, don't you? Here." Raditz caught the gizmo, and she showed him how it worked. "Now, remember, there are some things the dragon can't or won't grant. Immortality is one of those." A lie, but Raditz didn't need to know that.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed, but he said only, "I want one of those wishes, Raditz."

"Yes, Prince Vegeta."

"Let's go."

It took them only three days to gather all the golden globes. Raditz watched as Vegeta called the dragon, taking the first wish. And grinned when Vegeta's regrown tail whipped the air. His turn, and he approached the dragon, rising into the air. Vegeta ignored him, concentrating on his new-grown tail. "Dragon, I have a question before I make my wish."

"Speak."

"Are there any Saiyans alive not already on this planet?"

The dragon looked skyward a long moment. "There are not."

Raditz' hopeful expression faded. "Then I have no wish to make," he murmured, dropping to the ground. "If there is no one to bring, I will always be alone."

"What is your wish?"

Raditz stared at the ground. He could wish a Saiyan female back from the dead. That was always a possibility. But, he turned, looking at the peaceful land around them. No, he wouldn't wish this on another member of his warrior race. The dragon rumbled at him again, and he looked up at it. "Did Vegeta wish for just his own tail?"

"Yes."

"Then I wish for all those of Saiyan blood to have their tails permanently restored."

"It will be done." Eyes glowed, and the dragonballs dispersed.

"So, what was your wish?"

"You were right, Vegeta. Frieza got the rest of the Saiyans. We are the only ones left." Raditz shrugged. "What I wanted, I didn't get."

Goku sat on the floor of the living room, stroking the luxuriant fur of his tail. He was sure King Kai had said it wouldn't ever come back, but here it was. And it startled him, to realize that he'd been wrong about not wanting it. While it was true he didn't need it, he found that he did want it, and didn't want to give it up again.

But why had it returned? Was it because of his brother? He'd already established that the training he'd undergone as a boy was still good, he'd tested that by slamming his tail in the door. It had been painful, but not disabling. He didn't seem to react to stroking the way his brother had, either. It just felt nice. Nothing special, no overwhelming sexual urges. Goku sighed. Well, he'd always been an abnormal Saiyan. Perhaps this was just more proof. The phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Dad! I've got a tail!" Goten sounded frantic. "What happened? What do I do? How'd this happen?" He spoke so quickly that Goku didn't have a chance to answer anything. "I'm coming home." The phone went dead in Goku's hand.

His younger son had a tail? Goku frowned. He'd never seen the boy with a tail, and it only now occurred to him to wonder why. Had he not been born with one, or had Chi-Chi cut it off? Only a moment later, the door flew open. "Dad! My tail's back!"

Goku merely swished his to reply, leaving Gohan staring open-mouthed. "Your brother called. He's got one too."

The phone rang again, and it took Goku several minutes to calm Bulma down enough to tell what she was trying to say. "Dragonballs? Vegeta and Raditz? Three days ago? They do? Yeah, me too. Uh-hu. The boys, too. Pan? I don't know." Goku looked to his son. "She wants to know if Pan has a tail?"

"I don't know."

"Gohan doesn't know. I know he's her father, but… Okay. Okay. Yes. I know. Look, calm down. It's all right. I know about the full moon, Bulma! NO! Don't do that. That won't… No, no, no. Tell her to think of it as a, um, a fashion accessory! They can? Oh. Well… tell her she doesn't need to buy belts anymore. Oh, put her on the phone. Bra? Hey, calm down. It's all right. What? Raditz? What? OH! Don't worry about it. You're stronger than he is. Yes, he could. No, of course he won't. Because you're Vegeta's daughter. I don't really think he wants Vegeta mad at him. No. See? Okay, better? Good." There was silence for a long moment, as Goku's cheerful expression slowly got more stressed. "Look, Trunks, I don't know what happened. But don't worry about it, okay?" He waved to Goten when the young man charged through the door, and his expression suddenly lightened. "Besides, from what my brother told me, it makes sex really interesting."

Goten turned crimson, and Gohan could hear Trunks' screaming from where he stood. "Look, I know about the two of you. Well, of course. I've got a very good sense of smell, you know. Yes. Yes. No, that's between the two of you. Um… I don't think so. NANI???? He didn't! He did? Really? Um, could you put your mom back on? Bulma? Yes. No, I think they'll be fine now. Oh, and Bulma? Think of a nice place to have a second honeymoon." Goku grinned, and hung up the phone.

"Dad? Did you have to say that?" Goten groaned.

"Well, yeah. He calmed down really fast."

"Does everyone know?"

"Your mother doesn't," Goku said thoughtfully, "and I'm pretty sure Piccolo doesn't, or Yajerobe, or…" Goten cut him off.

"I get the idea, Dad."

"Did I miss something?"

"Oh, no. Nothing!" Goten replied hurriedly, his face flushing even more.

Gohan, however, wasn't as clueless as his father acted. It took him very little time to figure out just why Goten was so embarrassed. "You and Trunks? Lovers? Dad, and you're okay with that?"

"It's a normal thing for Saiyans."

"Goten isn't a Saiyan. I mean, not really. He's only half. And the other half doesn't consider it normal at all!"

Goku looked at his elder son, flushed with anger, tail bristling behind him. He bit his lower lip, made a decision. And Gohan collapsed to the floor, his tail in his father's tight grasp. "Do humans have tails, Gohan? Can they be rendered helpless like you are now? Can they transform into super Saiyans?" He stroked his son's tail, and smiled sadly when Gohan gasped with pleasure. "You're demi-Saiyans, not demi-humans. There is more Saiyan… and more Saiyan instinct… in you than anything, even though you are half-human."

He dropped Gohan's tail, kneeling on the floor next to him. "Fighting used to be your greatest pleasure, the way it is for me, for Raditz and Vegeta. If I had died of that heart virus, you know how things would have turned out. You'd have given your life trying to protect Trunks. You'd have died fighting. You have Saiyan blood, Gohan, no matter how much you try to deny it now."

Raditz watched Vegeta, trying not to be too obvious about it. He failed. "What is it?"

"I was just… thinking."

"What about?"

"Things best forgotten." Raditz poked a stick at the fire. "Things I pretended didn't ever happen."

"You mean on Frieza's ship."

Raditz sighed. "Yeah." He tried finger combing his hair for awhile, and gave it up as a lost cause. "Why did we try so hard for him, Vegeta? Why did we fight for him, when we knew what he would do to us? Why did we act like it never happened, even if we had to use a regeneration tank afterwards? Why didn't we acknowledge it if only between ourselves? What was the point of it all?"

Vegeta was silent, staring into the flames. When he did finally speak, Raditz could barely hear him. "We fought for him because fighting is in our blood. We acted like it never happened because of our pride. And we did our best so that he wouldn't kill us. The point… the point was to survive and grow stronger. Strong enough to beat him."

He thought about it. "Then I failed…"

"When I finally thought I had the strength it would take to beat Frieza, I took my opportunity. I sent you after Kakarot. You lost. I came, fought him, and lost. After I recovered, I went after Frieza. Frieza… killed me. That is the only reason I am alive now. Because Frieza killed me on Namek." Vegeta's voice was low and bitter. "I begged Kakarot to destroy him. I cried. I knew I was dying, I didn't think it mattered that I let anything other than pride show. I told him how Frieza destroyed our people, our planet.

"I didn't know I would regain my life when they used the dragonballs. They wished that everyone on Namek who had been killed by Frieza back to life. And I dug my way out of my grave, to find that Kakarot had become a super Saiyan and was defeating Frieza.

"I was transported here to Earth by another wish, just as I was preparing to attack Frieza, to finally avenge what he'd done to us. Kakarot defeated Frieza, but didn't finish him. He returned here, where I had been stranded, on the same day that King Kold and Frieza arrived. But my son got here before Kakarot, using a time machine. He killed them both, Frieza and his father, in under a minute. He came to warn of an upcoming danger.

"We trained for it for three years. My son was born the third year, not long before the danger arrived. And he also arrived from the future to help us fight. My future son was killed in that fight. I was… outclassed… through the entire fight. Kakarot was killed, his brat, Gohan, was the one who won that battle." Vegeta bit out his carefully chosen words.

"Then there was the tournament. Kakarot was granted one day in the living world. We entered a martial arts tournament. And a new enemy appeared. I allowed myself to become possessed to reclaim the power that I had lost over the years in spite of my training. And still, I was no match for Kakarot, and no match for the enemy. In the end, it was Kakarot, again, who won the battle. That is my history, Raditz. From Frieza's slave, to a failed warrior."

Vegeta leaned back against a stump, staring up at the stars. "My father would deem me unworthy, in spite of my power, because I failed. I have never taken the title of King of the Saiyans, because Prince is the best I can attain. Kakarot is stronger. The crown would go to him, were he to desire it."

"He wouldn't. He wouldn't know what to do with it." Raditz sighed. "My brother is a nincompoop."

"What would you do with the crown, Raditz?"

Raditz' sprawled form was suddenly on its feet. "V… Vegeta?"

"What would you do with the crown?"

"I could never defeat you!"

"Indulge my curiosity."

Vegeta did sound genuinely curious, and Raditz finally allowed himself to relax enough to sit down. He gave the question careful consideration, then sighed. "Give it back. I wouldn't know what to do with it, either. All I know is fighting."

Vegeta laughed. "Come here, Raditz. We need to train."

He leaned against the tree, too tired now to stand. He had made it… he could rest soon. He just had to make it across the yard. He pushed off from the tree, denying gravity with every staggering step. He made it to the door, leaning on it as he tried to get his battered hand around the knob. His broken fingers couldn't clutch it, and he sagged as his strength failed.

Blood smeared the door as he slid slowly down it, his hands reaching to cup the knob. His vision wavered, the knob of gleaming brass gaining the appearance of a mottled, rotten apple. There was a small click as the door opened, then a crash as his body fell to the floor.

Goku turned around, taking in the battered, bleeding form of his brother. A small noise of distress escaped him. A moment later, he lifted the heavy man from the floor, carrying him to his room. The few rags that were all that remained of his brother's clothes were easily removed, and the blood washed away.

He'd used the last senzu bean that morning. Goku frowned, his brother had a deep gash along his side. It still bled sluggishly, luckily not in the bright red pulses that he'd learned were very, very bad. "I think you can get by just with being bandaged up. What happened?"

"Training… Vegeta."

"Oh! Well, no wonder you look so bad! Vegeta's brutal when he trains. He always tells me that I'm not trying hard enough."

"You don't." Raditz batted at Goku's hand. "Leave that. I'll… be fine."

"It's still bleeding, Raditz. It needs bandaged."

"No. No." Raditz shook his head weakly. "My… punishment. Please, leave it."

"And you've got broken bones. I'm going to take care of you Raditz, whether you like it or not!" And in spite of his brother's protests, Goku did exactly that. It wasn't as if Raditz were in any shape, or had the strength, to stop him. He got the last bit of bandaging done, then noticed the clotted blood in his brother's tail. "Oh, were you guys working on tail training again?"

"Yes." Short and sharp.

"Hmm.." Goku handled the wounded tail gently, washing the blood out to see the damage beneath. "Oh, ouch. Ow! Shoot, Raditz, I think you'll need your tail stitched up, too." He reached for the thread and needle he'd laid aside after fixing Raditz' side. "This'll hurt."

Raditz agreed. It hurt. Badly. He let the world know about it, loudly cursing his brother rather creatively in three of the languages he'd learned. And then whimpered when his brother petted him to ease the pain.

"There, Raditz," Goku said quietly, stroking the injured tail. "See, it's not hurting so much, is it? I did this, back then, petted my tail and told it I was sorry after I'd been training it."

"Baka." Raditz hissed, torn between pleasure and pain. He knew the feeling, knew it entirely too well. He'd often been beaten, then had his tail petted to get him aroused before they raped him. "Stop it."

"Shh, hush, Raditz. Just relax. It should feel nice." Goku continued his steady, gentle stroking.

Raditz managed to growl, to grab his brother's tail with his less injured hand. Goku barely twitched, in fact coiling his tail around Raditz' arm. "Stop it." He yanked, Goku looked at him.

"It doesn't hurt." His tail uncoiled to grab and pull up the blanket. "You've got goosebumps."

"Don't either."

"You do." Goku ran his hand lightly across Raditz upper arm, then over his chest. "All along here. Do you want another blanket?"

Raditz groaned. His brother, his innocent and positively un-Saiyan, clueless brother, had no idea of what he was doing. "Yes." Anything to get Goku away from him!

"Okay! I'll be right back. There should be…" his voice grew faint as he got further away.

Raditz sighed in frustrated exasperation. He should be furious with his brother, and he did want to strangle him, but he also wanted to fuck him into oblivion. His tail moved beneath the blanket he did have, wrapping around his swollen flesh. This, too, he'd done more than once. His body arced, the blanket dampened, and Raditz inadvertently yelped in pain. His fresh wounds had not liked that at all. "Here you are. I knew Chi-Chi kept spare blankets down in the laundry!"

Goku paused by the bed, taking in the slight dampness and the hint of musk as he shook the blanket out. A quick flick of his wrist, and the blanket settled over his brother's carefully still form. Goku, grinning, tucked the blanket in around Raditz. "Night, big brother. Sweet dreams." He dropped a kiss carelessly on his brother's forehead, and managed not to start laughing until after he'd shut the door.

Raditz stayed still until he was quite sure his brother had left. He relaxed then, realizing how stiff he felt after having been so tense. What was with his brother? Hadn't they told him, more than once, what it meant to have the tail stroked or petted? His brother's earlier comment came back to him: _I did this, back then, petted my tail and told it I was sorry after I'd been training it._

His brother hadn't been all that old. Somewhere between twelve and eighteen, if he'd correctly pieced together the stories he'd been told about his brother's exploits as a child. Old enough for it to do more than merely "feel nice." _So what? He _knows_ what he's doing? He knows, he has to know. Maybe it's time I try a little experiment._ His wounded body throbbed with pain. "Maybe not."

Gentle. Too gentle for a Saiyan, especially one as powerful as he was. Kakarot was just too gentle. His touch was gentle, his voice full of happiness, his face so innocent and child-like. He petted, stroked, and kissed gently, but the massages were to die for. Raditz, recipient of yet another of those, lay quietly beneath his brother's hands, and tried to understand him.

He didn't, of course. Their lives had been too different. His current injuries left him quite firmly in his younger brother's care, and the differences were glaringly obvious now that he was forced to spend as much time with the man as he was. Before, he'd been able to fly off whenever he wanted. Now, until his stupid bones mended, he was stuck.

"Chi-Chi used to do this for me," he was informed. "She said it would help… um… keep me relaxed so that I would heal well. I guess she was right, because I always felt so much better afterward." Raditz contented himself with a grunt. He did prefer it when his brother chose not to talk, but his silent periods never lasted long.

"I'm going to miss her." Goku felt the slight tensing, and explained. "You remember, she was sick? The doctor told me she wouldn't be able to come home from the hospital. I can't remember what he said she was sick with, but she won't be coming home."

"Why haven't you gone to see her?"

"Hmm? I can't. She's in Other World. I'm not supposed to go there until I die again."

"She's dead?" Raditz started to turn, too quickly, and collapsed back onto the bed with a groan.

"Here, don't do that! You'll mess up all the good healing you've done!" Goku complained. He added a bit more oil to one palm, and his hands glided across Raditz' back and along his arms. The bandages were finally off, but the wounds still pained his brother, so he was careful not to use too much force. "You'll never get stronger if you don't let yourself heal and rest between training sessions like this one."

"Of course," Raditz muttered into his pillow. But he wasn't actually willing to move. The massages were worth holding still for. "You ever do this for Vegeta?"

"What? The massage?" Goku's hands smoothed over his lower back, dangerously close to his tail. "Don't worry, I won't get any oil on your tail. And no, I haven't. Do you really think he'd ever let me?"

"He would if he knew what he was missing," Raditz purred. "Vegeta's a hedonist when he isn't training."

"What's a hedonist?"

Raditz choked, both because of the question and because the massage had moved lower. "It doesn't matter, does it?"

"No, I suppose not." Goku sounded disappointed.

"Do you want to give him a massage?"

The hands stilled a moment, a startled "Huh?" coming from his brother. Then he began moving again, long slow strokes along Raditz' thighs. "Well, it might be interesting. I know it'd do him good, he's always way too tense. It'd be good for him to relax, really relax. But I don't think he'd let me. He'd kind of have to surrender, you know?"

Raditz did. He'd argued and argued, but hadn't been in any shape to fight his brother off. And after awhile, when his body hadn't the strength left to fight, he'd had no choice but to succumb to his brother's will. Which, he admitted now, was something he had wanted to do. Now, he willingly let Goku handle him as he wished. "I know. Feels good though. He doesn't know what he's missing."

"Are you going to tell him?" Goku was very nearly done, to Raditz' disappointment. "About what he's missing?"

Raditz thought about it. "I suppose I will eventually. I know he'd enjoy it."

Goku rose, putting away the oil he had used and wiping his hands. Raditz could hear him rattling around, and then the part he didn't like started. His long, spiky hair tangled badly when he was forced to stay in bed, and his brother insisted on brushing it out. Why he couldn't do it in the opposite order, Raditz didn't understand. His brother simply refused to listen to him about that. "You do realize that all the relaxing you just made me do flies right out the window when you hit a tangle, don't you?"

His brother just shrugged. "This is how Chi-Chi always did it for me. Massage, and then hair."

What was really annoying was that even in working out the tangles, his brother was gentle. It didn't hurt nearly as much as it could, if Goku were doing it the way…. He turned his mind from the past, returning instead to the complicated puzzle that was his brother. A new little twist, now. His wife was dead, and he didn't seem to be concerned, or even remotely sad. Yet, Raditz distinctly remembered how protective he was of his little family, and how easily riled he was when they were threatened.

Why wouldn't his brother be equally upset that his wife was dead? Of course, he'd been dead… Raditz frowned. Four times? Something like that. Maybe that was why. He'd been dead. For that matter, this wasn't the first time his wife had died, either. Perhaps he'd known exactly what would happen to her when she died, and that was why he wasn't upset. _Miss her. All he'll do is miss her. How odd. I had expected more emotion from him._

And that was another thing. He winced as Goku found yet another tangle, grimacing when his brother apologized for hurting him. Emotion. Saiyans weren't exactly emotional, after all. Were they? He blinked in sudden surprise. Rage and pride. Fear was to be hidden. But those were the three he had lived with for most of his life. He couldn't remember being happy, or excited by anything other than a fight. He didn't know love, as his brother, and now his prince, knew it.

Emotion. He and the others had spent so many years suppressing everything except what was needed to fight and survive. He had done nothing but train or fight since he was a small child. He didn't remember his mother, and barely remembered his father. There had been a series of trainers, and he didn't remember most of them. He didn't remember affection.

He knew fear. He knew fear very well. He knew terror, too. He could remember few pleasures in his life, not like since he'd come here. Oh, good food, the occasional woman… or man. He hadn't been terribly picky about such things. He could remember the few times he'd felt content, and the even rarer times he'd been truly happy. Not until he'd been revived had he learned about any of the weaker emotions… or realized how strong they could be.

Goku finished with Raditz' hair, running his fingers through the thick strands. His brother had quit complaining about the tangles some time before, and still seemed to be rather thoughtful. His gaze strayed to the tail curled lazily on the bed.

Raditz came quite thoroughly back to himself at the first touch of the brush being pulled along his tail. His eyes widened, even as he went completely limp. This was something he had _never_ experienced, and he definitely liked it. His chest rumbled, a deep purr emanating from him as his eyes closed, to stay half-lidded.

"Oh, good! You like that. I wasn't sure if there would be tangles or not."

_His jaw was broken, his fingers. His ribs had been shattered. He lay on his back, each gasping breath he took a stabbing pain. Zarbon smiled down at him, reached for him. "Please me."_

His tail wrapped around Goku's wrists, yanking the other Saiyan up onto the bed. Raditz' black eyes glittered, gleaming as he took in the startled look on his brother's face. He wasn't hurt so badly as his brother seemed to think. Goku's shirt ripped easily under Raditz' hands, his pants quickly following.

"Wh… What's going on?" Goku still seemed more confused than anything else, and giggled when Raditz traced his sides. "Hey, don't! I'm ticklish!" His naked body twisted and turned against Raditz, who growled, then pounced.

Goku twisted, trying to escape his brother, gasping for breath between gouts of laughter. This was much like what Vegeta had done, and became even more so when his brother went after his neck. He squealed, arcing himself against Raditz in an attempt to get his sensitive neck out of range. Raditz suddenly released his hands, and Goku's eyes widened when his brother's tail wrapped around his personal parts. "Ra.. Raditz?"

"Kakarot?" Husky, sensual, and right next to his ear. Raditz' tongue traced his ear, teeth nipped at the lobe. Goku shivered, unconsciously pulling his brother closer.

"Wha… what are… mmmm… what…" His thoughts were about as coherent as his question.

"I did warn you," Raditz purred. "Hush now." His lips covered Goku's, hands sliding along his brother's side and back. "Enjoy."

The tree shuddered, fell. Goku made quick work of the limbs, removing them from the trunk with sharp blows. The main trunk he threw back into the air, following it up. Several sharp blows and a few kicks later, he dropped to the ground. The tree shuddered, and began raining down in pieces. He did the same to the larger limbs, throwing the smaller ones into the brush pile.

He kept himself busy with his chores. Winter had come in with a vengeance, and the wood he prepared was needed to keep their little house warm. The stove was well-stocked, a pot of stew cooking on top of it. He'd already taken care of the trash, only a tiny amount of chi had been needed to burn it.

His brother had warned him, several times. He hadn't thought anything of it, his own tail produced no such responses as his brother's did. A fact that had become apparent during the evening, though that had done nothing to dampen his brother's ardor. Goku sighed, looking at the house. It was all his fault. All his. All.


	2. Decline

Odd. I've got this one, which is definitely yaoi, and another which is contemplating being that way. However, my take on homosexuality in general is that it's a waste of the gene pool, m/m is a waste of men, and w/w isn't to be thought of - EVER. But, when listening to a song titled "Sexual Thing" … One line is "I welcome you to the house of sin, open your mind and let the games begin."

Ah, speaking of games, I suppose the standard disclaimer should apply (on the song too!) here. Forgot that. One's Akira's, the other's Poison's. Not mine. (Sigh)

--------------

"I don't know how the hell he does it!" Raditz snarled. "I certainly can't."

Vegeta grunted, rolling off the other man. "So I noticed."

"Ha! You didn't do any better, and you know it. That's how we wound up like this." Raditz sprang away from Vegeta's half-hearted attack and scooped up his shirt. "I prefer you for a partner to most I've had."

"To most?" Vegeta paused in the act of yanking his pants back on.

"Try my brother sometime," Raditz advised, beginning to stretch.

"I have. Are you saying that he's better than I am?"

"Oh, hell no. Just a preferred partner." Raditz grinned. "Not that he's made himself available. I think I finally got it through his thick skull that he really shouldn't mess with my tail."

Vegeta snorted. "How long did that take?"

"Two and a half years. Hasn't touched it since two months ago."

Vegeta tossed the remains of the rest of his clothes back on the floor. He walked to the console and shut the gravity generator down. "Raditz, have you noticed a change in him?"

"A change?"

"Quiet, withdrawn, less willing to spar?" Vegeta elaborated, eyeing the other Saiyan appreciatively. It was nice to have the baka around again, good to have a Saiyan willing to admit he was a prince. Although, they were on much friendlier terms than before Raditz was killed. Vegeta had mellowed over the years.

"He's been quieter since his wife died. Spars just as much as usual, though. I don't know about withdrawn. I don't think he is, you told me yourself it was normal for him to not go visiting." Raditz rose from his stretches, caught a look at the prince's face. "Hey, is something wrong?"

"He was coming once a week to spar here. I haven't seen him for nearly five months." Vegeta shrugged. "And, he didn't bother to inform us about his wife. When did that happen, anyway?"

"Awhile back. I don't really know myself. Three or four months, I guess."

"You guess?" Vegeta paused with his hand over the door panel. "What does that mean?"

"It means, I found out two months ago. She was sick a month or two before that, and Goku told me the doctor hadn't let her come home from the hospital. I never noticed. House was clean and there was food on the table." Raditz shrugged. "You gonna open the door?"

Vegeta pushed the button, the door whooshed. The two men walked down the hall to the kitchen, and demolished the greater majority of the fridge's contents.

The house was clean, and supper cooking. Goku settled into one of the kitchen chairs, staring blindly out the window. _There'll be enough food, even if Goten does come home this time. I'll just claim I ate while I was cooking. Raditz'll believe me. I've told him that often enough. Just about every meal, I think. He'll be home soon. He'll be bloody, and tired, and hungry, and he'll smell like Vegeta and sweat and sex. I'll get him patched up, he'll eat everything I've made, and then he'll want me to spar with him for about an hour._

"And then he'll go to bed after I patch him up again," Goku sighed. "while I clean up the dishes, make the grocery list, and try to get the bills paid and the laundry done. Oh, and the mending. He'll be asleep when I get to bed. I wonder if I'll get any sleep tonight?" The fact that he wasn't sleeping well was starting to show, though he did his best to hide it. He hadn't known what it was like to grieve, and hadn't realized, at first, how hard it would be to take over everything Chi-Chi had done - and still do his some training. Grocery shopping, meal preparation, and cleaning up afterwards took unbelievable amounts of time. He'd even started eating less so there wouldn't be quite as much to make and clean up. Not that he'd been all that hungry, anyway. Laundry he did once a week, and although it didn't take him that long to get it done, it took what little time he had been using for training.

He hadn't been training as much even before Chi-Chi had died. The incident with Vegeta… he hadn't trained in the gravity room since that had happened. Besides, he'd finally noticed that Chi-Chi hadn't been able to get everything done, and offered his help. She'd taken him up on it, and then came the day he'd snuck off to train with Piccolo. When he got back, she was on the floor, unable to move. Two days later, she was gone. He'd buried her himself, just before his tail reappeared, but hadn't told anyone. The shock of his tail returning had made it slip his mind. His sons still didn't know their mother was dead.

It occurred to him that he really needed to tell them. Goten would have Trunks to comfort him, and Gohan had Videl. He'd told his brother two months ago… but what had happened hadn't been the comfort he'd hoped for. Instead, he'd given his brother the physical release Raditz had been needing since his return from the dead. That had again driven it from his mind for a time.

"I have to tell them their mother's dead." Goku walked to the phone, picked it up, listened to the dial tone. He pushed buttons, waited a moment. A machine beeped at the other end. Dully, he left his message, hung up, and repeated the process. He'd tried calling before, he remembered. He'd gotten machines then too. But he'd wanted to tell them, not their machines. That had been before. Now, he just didn't care.

A bell dinged. Goku turned, walking back into the kitchen. The first of the six batches of meatloaf were done. He set them out on the table, put in the next batch. Another bell dinged, he took biscuits out of the new oven - one Chi-Chi had insisted on when his brother had moved in with them - and put in a chocolate cake that would make up Raditz' dessert.

"I remember when I used to like sweets." He heard another buzz, and went to the laundry room. His days were ordered now by the buzzers and bells of the stoves and washer. Wet clothes plopped into the basket, the last load of dirty ones went into the washer. The wet clothes, he carried out to the line.

Raditz paused at the edge of the clearing. Vegeta was worried about his brother, and it showed despite the prince's attempt to sound casual. Not seeing him for five months was apparently not all that unusual, except that Kakarot had been a regular attendee of the GR since he'd wished Raditz back. Raditz had become worried when Goten had checked his cell phone, then burst into tears. Kakarot had left the boy a message about his mother. Not until then had he realized the boy'd been at Capsule Corp. since the night his tail had regenerated, and knew nothing about her death.

Clothes flapped on the line, smoke rising lazily from the chimney. The woodpile was perfectly straight, and nearly as tall as Goku. He knew when he went inside, most of a meal would be ready, and the first aid kit laid out. Floors would have been swept, beds made, blood cleaned out of the rugs. A partial grocery list would be attached to the refrigerator. Bills would be piled neatly on the desk, a checkbook next to them. A basket of clean clothes would sit next to the red chair, waiting to be mended.

Raditz walked slowly across the clearing. His brother had mown the lawn today, and from the looks of things, done something in the garden. The dirt was rearranged. And if he wasn't mistaken, the windows had all been washed. The doorknob had been polished, too. "Kakarot?"

"Hey." Goku appeared from the kitchen, a meatloaf tray in one hand and a plate of biscuits in the other. "I'm just getting some stuff out of the oven. Did Goten come with you?"

"No. And I got patched up before I came home. Vegeta called an early day."

"Oh, okay." The food found a new home on the table, Goku gathering up an extra place setting and taking it back into the kitchen with him. "Hope meatloaf's okay? There's chocolate cake for dessert."

"Chocolate cake?" Raditz looked up from his plate with renewed interest.

"Only one, though. I ran out of cocoa." Goku reemerged from the kitchen again, this time with three meatloaves, a tray of biscuits and a large bowl of salad. "Laundry day, so I fixed what was easiest."

"Whatever." Raditz dug into the food in front of him. "I'm starved."

"I fixed plenty!" Goku laughed, bringing in the last of the food. "It taste okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

There was silence for a time as the brothers ate. Raditz, though, was paying a bit more attention than usual. Six meatloaves? Goten and he would have put away three each and still been hungry, even with the biscuits and salad to serve as filler. Two biscuits, a half a bowl of salad, and only half a meatloaf later, his brother took his dishes into the kitchen. Raditz blinked in surprise as he came back with the chocolate cake.

"Hey, hope you don't mind finishing alone, but I need to get the laundry finished."

"You didn't eat much." His brother was looking pale, too, except for those dark eyes. They looked like burned out, empty holes.

"I had plenty. Ate some while I was cooking it!"

"I don't mind, then." Raditz applied himself single-mindedly to demolishing off the rest of the food. He didn't slow down until he got to the chocolate cake. His brother was crouched over some of his training clothes, patching a hole Vegeta had blasted through it. The tip of Kakarot's tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth, eyes narrowed in concentration as he stitched. His head dipped once, then again, and he looked straight up and shook his head. "Kakarot?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you go to bed? You seem tired."

"I'm fine. Just need to get this done."

Raditz walked over to him and forcibly removed the clothes. "You are going to bed. Don't argue with me. I can tell you need to." Goku looked up, ready to protest, to say he was fine. He wasn't given the chance. Raditz knocked him out. "And it's no use trying to argue with me, little brother."

Raditz swung Goku up easily, hauling him up the stairs to the room he'd once shared with his wife. Laying his brother on the bed, he proceeded to strip the obviously older man. _Older. Gag, that's annoying. He's my _younger_ brother. I should be the older-looking one! Dammit, no wonder he never listens to me. Then again, he doesn't listen to Vegeta, either, and he _does_ look older than Kakarot. Gods above and below! Are his…_

His mental commentary dissolved in dismay when he took in the sight of his brother's nude body. "Kakarot… what have you done to yourself!"


	3. Discovery of sorts

"What happened to you?" The unconscious form before him couldn't answer, of course. Raditz swooped, grabbing up the limp tail. The fur was thick, but it was dry and brittle. His brother wasn't as healthy as he acted, and hadn't been for a long time, if the wasted form before him was anything to go by.

Raditz closed his eyes, thinking. His wife had died. But, Vegeta had said he'd stopped his weekly training five months before. That was at least a month, maybe two months, before the woman had died. He'd had trouble convincing the man to spar for the last month, Kakarot had claimed he had too much work to do. They'd compromised on one hour spars after supper, and Kakarot had several times ducked out of those.

That was certainly time enough for his brother to look this bad. But why? That, Raditz was determined to find out. Of course… he'd have to wait until his not-so-little brother woke up. Frowning, Raditz crawled into bed with him. There was no way the brat was going to get away without telling him what was going on. He wrapped his tail firmly around Kakarot's thigh before settling to sleep.

_Owww… what happened? My head feels like… owww!_ Goku pressed his hand to his head, a soft little whimper escaping. His head was throbbing. The pain was all he really noticed at first, but when his senses finally kicked the rest of the information they'd gathered up to him, the pain was forgotten. He wasn't alone.

It took him a couple minutes to figure out that he was in his own bed, a moment or two more to recognize that his brother was the heavy lump half lying on top of him. _What happened? What did I do? How… why is this happening?_ "Raditz? Get off, I can't breathe!"

He shoved at his brother, getting only a sleepy, mumbled response. The heavy weight only shifted to push him deeper into the featherbed, flatting him more. "Raditz! Off!" To his dismay, he realized Raditz really was crushing the air out of him. "Get off! Raditz, please!" Desperate, Goku coiled his tail around his brother's, and stroked.

Raditz' eyes popped open. "Nghnnh??!"

"Get off me! I can't breathe!" Goku sat up, gasping a bit, when his brother complied.

"No surprise, ya bit of nothin'. You told me you've been eatin' while you cooked! How long have you been lying to me?"

His air supply assured, Goku realized his head was still throbbing. He bent forward, clutching his head. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"My head…" Goku whimpered. Raditz leapt half-way across the room when he began retching.

"Dammit, Kakarot! What's wrong with you? You ain't nothing but skin and bone and bruises, and now you're sick?"

Goku, in the throes of his sickness, was hardly in any shape to answer him. He sat, shaking, his head bowed, when the bout finally ended. "Kakarot? Hey, I'm talking to you. What is wrong?" Goku ignored him, crawling from the bed and gathering up the coverlet. Raditz sidestepped when the noisome mess neared him, and followed his brother out the door. "What are you doing?"

Goku kept walking, down the hall, the stairs, through the kitchen and out the back door. A large tub of water simmered over the coals of a fire, he dumped the blanket in and began scrubbing it. Raditz watched in disbelief as his younger brother washed the blanket, rinsed it, hung it on the clothesline, and then proceeded to start washing something else. "Kakarot? No! You're going back to bed."

"I have to get the laundry done, Raditz," Goku said patiently. "I haven't got any clean clothes to wear." He added more soap to the large tub, and continued scrubbing. "That's why I have to do laundry every week."

"It's three o'clock in the morning, little brother. You don't need to be doing laundry now."

"Three?" Goku moaned. "I should have been done an hour ago. And I still have to finish… finish…" He swayed, Raditz barely catching him before he fell into the wash water.

"Sleeping," Raditz decided grimly. He hauled his brother's limp form back into the house, dumped him in the bed. He found another blanket and spread it over the abused body, shaking his head. To ensure that his hard-headed brother wouldn't have a thing to do the next day, Raditz went down to take care of the wash. And the mending. And all the other things he knew Goku generally did.

"Why the baka doesn't just get a washer, I don't understand," he muttered, scrubbing irritably. "They got an extra stove, why not a washer? Hell, even with Frieza, I had a washer!" It didn't take him long to get through the clothes, irritability has a way of hustling unwelcome chores. The mending he tackled with the same aggravation. Some of the repairs his brother had been making were to clothes that Raditz would have simply thrown away. He glanced at the grocery list, adding quite a few things he liked and hadn't had for awhile.

Then, he sat down to the pile of bills and the checkbook. He sorted through the bills quickly, stacking them in order of date due. There weren't a whole lot of them, the capsule house was luckily fairly self-contained. The charge bill for the grocery store staggered him, and the fact that it was the third and final notice he was staring at. He grabbed the checkbook, a pen, and flipped to the register. He froze.

Carefully written in his brother's hand was a negative number twice the size of the grocery bill. Disbelieving, Raditz began checking his brother's math. It was right. There were small deposits, once a week. They all had strange entries - clothes, furniture, wood, art, cookware - that didn't make sense to Raditz, but they weren't enough to even begin to make a difference in the balance.

The checkbook had originally been done in a different hand, Raditz assumed Chi-Chi's. The deposits there were a regular set amount, and the number, while still negative, wasn't nearly so huge. Had the woman not told Goku that they were broke? No, she had. Repeatedly, Raditz remembered grimly. Telling him he ought to go get a job instead of spending all his time training.

He realized the woman must have had some sort of a job of her own, to be making the regular deposits that had been slowly taking the account back into the black. Probably she had paid most the bills in cash, and deposited the rest. So… why weren't creditors banging on the door? He'd been on Earth long enough to know that was common in such cases. Another thing to ask his brother.

Raditz dropped the checkbook. Well, he obviously needed to be helping out with the finances. Except, a self-deprecating smile played on his lips, the only thing he knew was fighting and killing. And with Frieza out of business, that wasn't exactly an option.


	4. Food

"Here." Raditz positioned a tray over his brother's lap. "Eat that."

"But I…"

"Eat. I did the necessary stuff. The rest can wait until later. And Kakarot… eat it all." He gave his younger brother a dark look. "I didn't fix it for you to push around your plate and scrape into the trash."

"Okay," Goku whispered, and dutifully took a bite. Raditz waited a few minutes more to be sure he kept eating before going back down to the kitchen for his own meager meal - meager considering what he usually ate, gargantuan compared to what he'd given his brother.

"Battle rations. I should be thinking in terms of battle rations," he muttered when he finished. He had already cased the contents of the cupboards, pantry, and fridge. It wouldn't last three days the way he'd been eating, but nearly two weeks if he ate no more than he would have gotten on a purging mission - and that was feeding himself and his brother. The garden produced plenty of greens, he'd eat those when he couldn't get anything else. His brother, on the other hand, adored the things. That would keep them going a little longer than the two weeks. Their main need was meat, since the freezer had broken and spoiled what they'd had. Raditz had every intention of going hunting as soon as he was sure he'd gotten Kakarot stuffed as full as possible without making him sick.

Besides, he wanted to kill something.

Raditz butchered the two stags he'd killed. He stuffed the tiny excuse for a freezer on the refrigerator as full as possible, then cooked all the rest, and stored most of it in the refrigerator. The rest, they'd eat. He frowned. Potatoes… where were the potatoes? A low growl escaped him when he realized that he'd have to dig them out of the garden.

He stalked outside, identified the potato plants, and started digging. As an afterthought, he collected a couple of carrots and a few ears of corn. The vegetables washed, he dumped them in a pot and started them boiling. While they cooked, he went back out to tend to the hides.

The messy chore gave him an idea, though, and he worked the hides while he thought about it. Maybe… but it would be awhile before he would be able to tell if the idea had any merit. And unfortunately, his brother needed money now. He just needed a bath. A dip in the stream would be faster, if colder, but he didn't much care. His hair was full of blood.

Raditz finished his bath, then remembered the food on the stove. With a gargled cry that could have been rage or disgust, he charged back into the kitchen. The pots, much to his relief, hadn't boiled dry, and the veggies were more than tender. He smashed the carrots into the potatoes, set the corn aside on a plate.

"I may not be as good a cook as you, little brother, but I can manage to scrape together enough to get us fed," he muttered, preparing a tray to take to him.


	5. Death warmed over

It didn't take Raditz long to realize that taking care of things around the house was far more time-consuming than he'd ever imagined, and he found himself with a greater appreciation of what his former sister-in-law had dealt with.

He could cook the basics. If it came in a box or can, he could figure it out easily enough. Chi-Chi and Goku, though, both normally cooked from scratch, and the kitchen was stocked accordingly. His brother benefited from the better portions of scorched, burned, and sometimes underdone learning experiences, while he ate the more unappetizing parts.

His mending was even more horrid than Goku's; wide, clumsy stitches that often as not weren't as secure as he thought they were, and ripped out as soon as the clothes were used. He learned to be wary of pricking his fingers with the stubborn needle, and to be even more stubborn than it was.

Laundry was a joke. He'd seen his brother and his wife fill the tub, add soap, and scrub, then rinse the clothes and hang them on the line. His attempt to do exactly the same thing ended in a bubble-fest disaster that Goku had had to rescue him from. His brother had then sat on the ground and patiently explained how to measure out the soap, why not to shove too hard on the washboard, and that the soap had to be thoroughly rinsed out. He'd been hanging clothes that still had soap bubbles on them. Now, he could do the entire batch in a little under a half-hour.

The sweeping and scrubbing were his least favorite chores, but those, too, were a daily ritual. Tending the garden wasn't a great deal of fun, either. About the only thing he really enjoyed was getting the firewood ready.

Not until Vegeta showed up did he realize he'd been so busy he hadn't been training.

"What are you doing?" Vegeta's voice dripped with scorn.

"Vegeta!" Raditz whirled, trying to hide the potato masher in his hand. "Um, fixing lunch?" He flushed as the prince eyed him. The pink apron he wore had been the only one left that was clean, and the ribbons had been the all he could find to get his hair out of his way while he worked. The clothes were ones he'd mended himself, and his flush darkened as he realized that once again, the patch he'd put on was falling off.

"Why?"

"Kakarot's sick." The ominous pop behind him sent him spinning to lower the heat on the pan of potatoes. "Dammit! I do not want to burn another batch!"

"You haven't come by for nearly a month."

"That long?" Raditz attacked the potatoes mercilessly. Mashed potatoes had quickly become his favorite recipe - boil potatoes, mash, serve. "I've lost track… had to confine him to his bed so he'd stop wasting what little energy he has."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He was starving himself." Raditz meeped and frantically stirred the gravy. "I'm not sure why, there's a lot of reasons… Go visit him, will you? I'm a bad enough cook without distractions!"

Vegeta cast one last look at the patch that was hanging loosely from the back of Raditz' pants, and the frilly pink apron, and decided visiting Kakarot might be a good idea. He started up the stairs, a smirk appearing as Raditz began cursing. He paused in the doorway of Kakarot's room, just looking at the other man.

Goku turned his head slightly, just enough to tell who was there. "Vegeta."

"Kakarot. You look like hell." Frowning, Vegeta paced closer to the bed. Goku squashed a few of the pillows behind him, sitting up a bit more.

"Yeah, I know…" His gaze returned to the open window. "Raditz tells me that every day. Then he forces some evil concoction down my throat."

"Kakarot…" Vegeta reached out, tracing a finger lightly along the other man's side. Goku flinched, his eyes shutting as his body stiffened. "You're almost a shadow of yourself." Vegeta caught Goku's tail from where it hung limply next to the bed, ran his fingers through the fur. "Your tail… it's almost like it isn't even a part of you. It's so thick… Saiyans can tell the state of their health by their tails. Yours…" Vegeta ruffled the fur backwards, "is a little brittle, but otherwise seems fine. You aren't, though."

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"You're always tired. Eat this. It's better than last time, I promise." Raditz waited for Vegeta to move out of the way before settling the tray he'd brought for his brother. "Do you want some, Vegeta?"

Vegeta examined the food in front of Goku, remembered the mess downstairs. "No. I want to know why Kakarot looks like death warmed over."


	6. If that's all that's wrong

_Potatoes again._ Goku stared down at the pile of mashed potatoes on his plate, the gravy alone enough to make him queasy. There was meat… probably the small dinosaur Raditz had killed a day or two before. He'd learned the hard way though, if he didn't eat it when served, Raditz would sit on the bed and feed him. He didn't want that. He picked the spoon up, forced his mouth open, trying not to gag on the tiny bite he took. _I'm tired of potatoes. And I'm not hungry. I just want…_ His eyes turned back to the window, his mind dismissing the food and the others in the room.

Raditz noticed, a wrinkle of concern forming on his brow. "Kakarot?" He crossed to his brother, removing the spoon from a hand still suspended. With a tiny sigh, he removed the tray, as well, setting it to the other side of the bed. "Kakarot?"

"What is wrong with him?" Vegeta asked as Raditz lowered his brother's hand back to his lap.

"I don't know."

"You said there were several reasons," Vegeta pointed out, crossing his arms, his foot tapping impatiently.

"Well, his wife died," Raditz said. "And they were in debt, she was the one making payments on the bills. I've seen their records, he's been trying, but getting nowhere. I haven't gotten anywhere," he added in frustration. "I finally figured out what one of the entries meant, and have managed to helpa little by keeping that person supplied, but it just hasn't been enough."

"Money and a dead woman caused that?" Vegeta snorted, pointing at the vacant-eyed Goku. "I don't think so."

"Hey, you're supposed to be eating," Raditz said quietly, prodding his brother. "Do I need to feed you?"

Dark eyes closed, the head turning ever so slowly to indicated negation. Raditz removed himself from the bed, replacing the tray. "Then eat. Don't make me come back over here and feed you!" His attempt at a jocular tone fell flat, but his brother managed a feeble smile anyway. Slowly, another tiny bite made its way into the mouth, and the watchers saw his jaw clench as he fought it down.

"Raditz, I want to see those records."

"Of course, Vegeta."

"Just how the hell did they manage to do this?" Vegeta stared, incredulous, at the amount of the debt just to the grocer. "That huge garden, and I know he and the boys were always hunting or fishing… what did they buy?"

"Sugar, flour, salt… spices, stuff like that," Raditz answered. "We've been doing without, as much as possible. I've been keeping meat in the house… the dinosaurs and fish are ridiculously easy to catch. But I don't know anything about gardening except what he told me. Besides, I hate vegetables."

"Baka!" Vegeta walloped Raditz upside the head, earning a pained yelp.

"Not you!" Raditz complained, rubbing the side of his head. "I meant the kind you eat! Ow! Oh, all right, the kind technically described as foodstuffs, is that better?"

"No," Vegeta snorted, a slight grin indicating otherwise. "But if money and a dead woman are all that's causing so much stupidity, I think we can cure both problems."

"Huh?"

"You're turning human on me, Raditz," Vegeta growled. "I'll pay the damned bills. And we…" his eyes lit with a savage passion as his tail snaked around the other's thigh and stroked, "we will teach him there is still something to live for."

Raditz purred, his own tail loosening from his waist to wriggle under the prince's shirt. He didn't mind in the least to have the frilly pink apron removed, but the hair bows were something else. "OUCH! Here, I'll do that!"

Vegeta took full advantage of him while he was occupied in not yanking his own hair out. His tail coiled with Raditz', circling the base and sliding slowly along the silken, writhing length of it. His hands slid under Raditz' shirt, stroking and teasing rippling flesh and taut nipples. Raditz let out a yelp, sensitive skin quivering at the skillful handling. Abandoning the ribbons, he reached for the teasing, taunting royal.

The prince deftly avoided the reaching hands, circling behind Raditz in a lightening fast move. "No, no," he chuckled. "You were supposed to set your hair free for me."

Raditz growl at the words faded to a desperate purr as his prince's hand dipped below his waistband, running familiarly over the cloth separating their skin, the prince grinding against his backside as he tormented the larger man. "Vegeta…" He flicked his head, the waterfall of captured hair falling over his shoulder where he could get at the damned ribbons that kept him from heaven.

He yanked and tugged, angry fingers working frenziedly to undo the knots in the two ribbons that were left. Finally, several frantic jerks broke the knots - the sharp pain of pulled hair a contrast to Vegeta's delicate, whispering touches - and the mass fell loose, completely hiding the smaller prince. A rumble of discontent at the sudden smothering was punctuated by a stinging pinch applied to his tail. Raditz dropped to his knees.


	7. Lost, empty eyes

Vegeta grimaced at the balance left in his account when he finished writing the last check for the final bill. "Kakarot had better appreciate this," he growled quietly. He handed Raditz a credit card. "Buy some groceries. I'll be back later… you don't look fit to spar with."

Raditz glared at him. "Not fit to…" he spluttered. "I looked good enough to fuck for three hours straight, but I don't look like I can spar?!!!"

Vegeta smiled, pulling the warrior down to kiss his nose. "You were the one in the frilly pink apron and hair bows. Who could resist?" he teased. "I'll be back tomorrow, and you had better be ready."

Raditz watched Vegeta vanish into the distance, not certain whether to scowl or laugh. Spotting the apron, he opted to scowl, and incinerated the obnoxious thing with a single chi blast. Still scowling, he went to check on his brother.

"Kakarot?" The food still sat on the plate, spoon again raised partway, empty eyes on the view outside the window. His brother's mouth was slightly open, as if waiting for the spoon to finish its interminable journey and deposit the miniscule amount of food it contained. Raditz pushed his hair back, sighing. Again, he took the spoon from his brother's unresponsive hand and put the hand back into his brother's lap. The food he took downstairs to heat up.

_Kakarot… what is it that's wrong with you? Will having Vegeta take care of the bills raise your spirits any?_ The meal reheated, Raditz carried it back upstairs, settling at his brother's side. _I wonder… could he have bonded the harpy? Vegeta told me a true bond wasn't possible, but maybe a partial bond did exist. Maybe that's what's wrong._

He knew from experience the spoonfuls he gave his brother had to be small. The first bite was placed, his brother gagging, then swallowing mechanically. "Vegeta took care of the bills. He gave me a credit card to get some groceries with." He'd hoped for more response, barely registered the slight flicker of the other's eyes. "And he's coming back tomorrow… Kakarot?" There was no mistaking the way his brother had flinched away.

"He's coming to spar with me. I've missed a month of training." Ah! Surprise stirring in apathetic eyes, even as he recoiled from another bite of food. "And you have to eat. Since you wouldn't feed yourself, I'm feeding you, and you know you're eating."

His brother's full lips parted, accepting the bite Raditz had ready. Raditz frowned again as even the apathy faded, leaving nothing behind. Empty eyes. "Tomorrow, when he comes, why don't you come out and watch us? I know I told you to stay up here and rest, but I think… I think you've been up here too long. I… miss you, miss having you to talk to downstairs."

A brief flicker in those black eyes. His brother had finally finished his meal. "I'll be back up later, once the kitchen's back in shape. Do you need anything?"

The slightest shake of his head. "Well, alright then." Raditz picked up the tray, pausing at the door to look back at his odd younger brother. The sun had set, but the man still stared out the window reflecting those lost, empty eyes.


	8. He wasn't raised right

"Kakarot." Raditz nudged his brother. "Hey, scoot over." A tremor shook his frame, long limbs slowly moving to make more room on the bed. Raditz slipped in, curling around his brother. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong? Vegeta took care of the bills. You don't need to worry about them anymore. And he gave me a card to buy food with. There's no reason for you to starve yourself. We have plenty now."

The tail that normally hung off the bed was wrapped tightly around his brother's waist, and as usual in the evenings, Kakarot was not responding. Raditz frowned. He was missing something. Something simple, probably. His own tail flickered out, rubbing gently along his brother's leg, trying to comfort. If anything, it made his already silent brother even more still.

"You… don't want me to touch you?" The barest hint of relaxation, and a sharp, indrawn breath. Feeling oddly hurt, Raditz pulled his tail back, wrapping it tightly around his waist as he rose. While the idea of sleeping alone didn't really bother Raditz, the fact that his brother had changed so much so quickly did. His brother had once been the one to initiate most of the non-sparring touches. Had been the one who had curled next to his brother to offer comfort. Kakarot had been the one whose hands had strayed over his tail, his body, trying to offer comfort.

So why, when Raditz offered the same, did his brother shut down? He moved quietly to the chair, wrapping a blanket around himself, and settled down to at least watch over the sibling he couldn't comfort. His brother hadn't lost the will to live, he didn't think. He still responded, sometimes, but the responses had been getting fewer and further between over the last month. He had still tried to do what he considered his share of the chores, until Raditz had found him passed out next to the laundry tub. He'd been confined to his bed since. That had been two weeks ago. He'd started staying with his brother at night when he discovered his sibling wasting his strength on katas he was too weak and sick to perform properly.

And that, Raditz realized suddenly, was when his brother had really shut down. His eyes widened. _It can't be!_

"Raditz!" The roar from downstairs catapulted Raditz from the uncomfortable chair he'd eventually gone to sleep in. A glance at his brother showed him to still be asleep, so he merely grabbed up a pair of shorts and headed down the stairs.

"I'm comin' already!" he yelled back as his name was called again. He burst from the stairwell into the living room, and knocked Vegeta flat. _Oh shit._ He scrambled off the smaller man and pulled him to his feet.

"I take it you're ready to spar?" Vegeta snapped.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I was going to take Kakarot out to watch us, but he's still asleep." Seeing Vegeta's look turn feral, Raditz hastily added, "And I don't think us waking him up is a good idea. I… I think I figured out what's wrong."

"Oh?" Vegeta dropped to the couch, made himself comfortable. "Care to enlighten me?"

"I… I'll try." Raditz drew a deep breath, settling himself at Vegeta's feet. He purred a little when Vegeta immediately started petting his hair. "Kakarot… isn't… he's… Oh, hell. He wasn't raised right."

Vegeta chuckled. "You don't say?"

"No, I mean it." Raditz' tail looped around Vegeta's, coiling and twining as the prince continued to caress him. "He was raised a human, not a Saiyan. He hasn't got a clue about his people." A yelp escaped when Vegeta pulled his hair.

"I'm aware of that."

"I know. But… I think you discount it."

"What?" The hand still, the tail tightening threateningly around his own.

"He was raised here. With their standards. Their values. He's forgotten everything about us, and pretty much doesn't pay attention when we talk about home." Raditz snorted. "Not that we were ever home much, but… we had our people around us, at least. And when most of them were killed, we had each other. Kakarot has had only you… and that after he grew up." He willed his prince to understand, and relaxed when the petting resumed. Vegeta didn't speak, however, so he assumed the prince must be considering his words. He added one last thought. "And I do not know if he was bonded to his mate."

"No. It isn't possible." Vegeta ran his fingers through the waterfall of black spikes, giving the rest of Raditz' statements the consideration they deserved. His tail twined with Raditz', bringing another question to mind. "His tail?"

"Might as well not be there," Raditz replied darkly. "Doesn't respond to pain or pleasure, either one. Doesn't show the state of his health, you saw that for yourself. It's thick, full. A little dry, still, but looks for all the world like a perfectly healthy Saiyan tail. And we both know he isn't."

"Does it indicate his moods?"

Raditz started to say no, then paused. "I… I'm not sure," he admitted slowly. "I can remember when he used to twitch it around while he was laughing, but it's been hanging limp or wrapped up for so long…"

"And you think it's because he wasn't raised with Saiyans?"

"No!" Raditz corrected quickly. "Because he wasn't raised _as_ a Saiyan. He was raised as a human." He nuzzled Vegeta's thigh, purring and growling nervously. "I think their standards are so firmly in place that he thinks that being with us, sexually, was wrong."

Vegeta's movements stopped momentarily. "What?" He tugged, Raditz meeped and twisted to face his prince. "Are you serious?"

"Well, I think that's part of it. I mean, his wife dies, I fuck him… you fucked him. Was that before or after me?"

"Before."

"Okay, so he gets fucked by you, his wife dies, and when he tells me that, I fucked him. His own brother. Maybe he thought, being raised by humans and all, that he was being punished? That his wife died because… well…" Raditz trailed off uncertainly.


	9. Claim

Ahem. Hi folks. I have captured the elusive lemon, so for those of you who don't like them, don't bother with this chapter. It's got next to nothing to do with the storyline. A little, but not much. It's, as usual, not as detailed as it could be, but I prefer to keep my rating appropriate.

----------------------

Vegeta scowled, though he didn't cease with his petting, and slowly urged Raditz up onto couch with him. "That doesn't sound like something Kakarot would believe. He's too… innocent. Too trusting. Besides, he's friends with too many gods, and he wouldn't believe they'd do something like that to him."

Temporarily shocked out of nuzzling his prince, Raditz looked up. "He's friends with… what?"

"Too many gods," Vegeta replied with a slight chuckle. "Pay more attention to me." His fingers stroked through the black waterfall, gently tugging the bigger Saiyan up for a kiss. "I could get used to this…"

"Yes…" Raditz hissed, "but it… doesn't… help my… mmm… brother."

Vegeta tipped his head slightly, his tongue flickering against Raditz' neck. "Didn't you say something about bonding?"

"My… brother." Raditz held very still. "I didn't know if he was bonded to his mate."

Sharp teeth punctured skin, too shallow for a true bond, deep enough to make it bleed. Vegeta lapped blood lazily, tail still twining around Raditz'. "I wonder if a bond would shock him out of this."

Raditz pulled back sharply. "You wouldn't!" He found himself on the floor, his angry prince pinning him down, breathing becoming more difficult due to the arm across his throat.

"I would, Raditz. I would claim you both." Vegeta pulled his arm away, stroked Raditz' jaw. "The last two Saiyans, bonded firmly to their prince, and twice to each other."

Wide black eyes blinked as realization set in. "Brother and mate? You would have me claim him as well? Is that… possible?"

"Of course, Raditz. I claim you…" Vegeta swooped, his teeth fastening firmly and breaking skin, drawing blood which he drank and lapped at, keeping Raditz from returning the claim, "then Kakarot. You will then claim him, as well, and he claims you. Then you both claim me."

Raditz purred, his tail stroking Vegeta's back, completely in charity with the entire world. "Okay," he murmured, hands roaming the slender figure pressed against him. If Vegeta said it would work, who was he to argue? The clothes he'd been wearing were ripped from him, and a part of him groaned at the thought of mending them. The rest of him responded willingly to the sudden feel of the prince's nude form writhing atop him.

Vegeta moved slowly down Raditz' body, feathering kisses across the broad chest and quivering stomach. Raditz' back arched slightly, his tail looping for only a moment around Vegeta's neck, tugging down before it was jerked away and hidden in the long hair, suddenly frightened eyes meeting his when Raditz propped himself up on his elbows. "I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Vegeta smirked, his tongue trailing up the long shaft as Raditz collapsed in delight. "For wanting what I'm giving?" His tail looped around Raditz', pulling it free of the mass of hair, mimicking the actions performed by the talented tongue. Raditz groaned, hands fisting in the spiky hair before his tail looped again around Vegeta's neck, urging, stroking, moving down to tease before twining again with the prince's.

"Ve..ge..ta! No… don't stop!" His tail tightened involuntarily around Vegeta's neck, trying to hold him in place before a hand fisted around it, the pain causing him to let go. Pain that was immediately soothed away with soft caresses and gentle kisses as Vegeta knelt over him. "Vegeta… please…"

"Did you think I would just leave you hanging?" Vegeta murmured, nibbling the tip of Raditz' tail, making the other arch in exquisite agony. He settled himself, slowly, only the slightest whimper and the astonished, wide eyes of his lover betraying just how unusual his action was. "Did you think I wouldn't give you pleasure?" Nimble fingers ruffled the fur, the involuntary movement of the other's hips seating him firmly. Vegeta gasped, then slowly moved, keeping a torturously slow pace. "Did you think that I wouldn't ever please you?"

"Vegeta…" softly moaned, a plea, a demand, a caress in its own way. Raditz placed his hands on Vegeta's hips, unable to believe the man had voluntarily given himself away, unable to not urge the prince to move faster, unable to deny his passion. He pulled his tail from Vegeta's grip, flickering it along the other's tail, across his back, rubbing it firmly over his bottom. He got what he wished as Vegeta braced himself on Raditz' chest and began to move. Even so, it wasn't enough. "Vegeta… please…"

He stopped, Raditz cried out in frustration. "What, Raditz? Do you want to be in control?" Velvet met his lips, he opened for his prince immediately, hands stroking every bit of skin he could reach as his tongue battled with his prince's. Vegeta pulled back just a bit. "Do you want control, Raditz? I can give it to you."

The husky invitation was grounds for another kiss, a pleading moan, and having his hair viciously yanked as Vegeta pulled him over. He blinked down at the prince beneath him, not entirely sure he believed his good fortune. Vegeta _never_ gave up control. He was pulled into another deep kiss, insistent hips thrusting against him since he hadn't moved yet. The spell freezing him broke, he drew back, settled himself, and thrust.

Raditz' hair fell around them, a curtain blocking out their surroundings. He moved slowly over the sweat-slicked body of his prince, drawing out the sweet torment. His tail twined sensuously around that of the prince, sinuously sliding up and down, curling and stroking Vegeta into a feverish state. Finally, he increased his pace, rocking and slamming into the royal, making him cry out. The younger man's moans spurred him on, his hand reaching to grasp and tease the prince's arousal. Their cries mingled, bodies jolting with the sweetness of relief.


	10. Not human

_Made it._ Goku leaned against the porcelain, too weak to pull himself up. He'd heard his brother and Vegeta… they wouldn't be checking on him anytime soon. His body arched again, he let it. _How long? It's been too long. I shouldn't be sick. I've been sick too long. Raditz really doesn't cook all that well… but I throw everything up. Even nothing… _More dry heaves followed.

How long he was in the bathroom, he wasn't sure. He dragged himself back to the bed, barely managed to pull himself into it and pull the cover back over himself. _When was the last time I had clothes on? Was it when Raditz put me to bed… when was that? How could I have lost track of time so badly? I have to…!_ He jerked forward, only to fall limply back against the blanket. _No… I remember. Raditz said Vegeta took care of it._

His face twisted as he finally recognized what his brother had told him. _Vegeta… paid all that off? No… that isn't good! How will I pay him back? I haven't got anything! Just… the house, which he doesn't need. _Stark fear crossed his face, showing only for a moment before he lapsed back into the blankness that had become so much a part of him recently. _Or my body. And that… he wants._

Goku looked back out the window. It had been so long since he had left the house. Raditz had said he would take him out today, let him watch the sparring. But his brother was downstairs, and the sparring he was doing with Vegeta was not the type Goku had any interest in watching.

_I wonder if Chi-Chi… if she ever found out about Vegeta? It was bad enough I killed her… I didn't mean to do it, I didn't think it would hurt to leave for awhile, but she needed me there… and I was gone. If I'd just stayed home like I was supposed to, she'd still be alive. I would have known she needed to go to the hospital, that she wasn't okay like she'd told me. I wouldn't have killed her. I knew she was getting old, I knew she was sick… I just didn't think. There was so much blood… I never told anyone. The doctors… they told me what they thought had happened and I nearly died right there. I killed my own wife. I don't deserve to get better. I should be sick. I should be weak. But I don't deserve to die. That would be giving me relief, and I don't deserve to not suffer._

The noises from downstairs finally stopped. He barely noticed - he took care not to notice much these days. He knew they were coming upstairs, Raditz must have remembered his promise. He heard them speak, but couldn't process what they said. Vegeta was complaining about something, he had that whining tone going again. _I wonder if he realizes that he whines?_

The blankets were stripped off, he registered that only because someone picked him up. It took him a moment to realize it was Vegeta… and that he still had no clothes on. He began trembling… then reminded himself he deserved anything that happened. He needed to be punished.

"Well, that was… interesting," Vegeta said, calmly pulling on his clothes.

Raditz yanked his armor on. "Yeah. I'll go get my brother, then meet you outside."

"I might as well go with you. I have a claim to make, after all." Vegeta smirked at the irritated look his lover threw him, and followed an agitated tail all the way to the bedroom. He stopped short. "It stinks in here. When was the last time Kakarot had a bath?"

"A bath?"

"Yes, Raditz, a bath." Vegeta sniffed, carefully. "You have been taking care of him, haven't you bathed him?"

Raditz frowned. "I…" The frown deepened. "Um, no."

Vegeta ripped the blanket back, recoiled. "Well, he certainly needs one! You strip the bed, I'll give him a bath."

"But…"

"I want to bite a clean neck, Raditz," Vegeta snapped, collecting the limp, unresisting form. He took less than three strides before Kakarot began shaking. He scowled, and hurried to the bathroom to deposit him into the tub. Warm water seemed to soothe away most of the tremors, but the younger man still shook.

Vegeta soaped a washcloth, and, interested in only removing the stink from Kakarot's hide, set to work. The tremors stilled at his first touch, his arch-rival's body going so motionless he found himself checking to see if the younger man still breathed. "Kakarot?" The washcloth slid down the oddly-distended stomach - and Vegeta froze.

"Gods below!" he hissed. "You're pregnant!"

Kakarot passed out, falling limply against the back of the tub. Vegeta finished cleansing him in something of a daze, trying to figure out if it were possible he was the father, and deciding from the weakness of the young chi he could just barely feel, that the child was more likely Raditz'. Even so, he transferred a tiny amount of energy to the cublet, she was far too weak - her bearer had been too ill too long. He would not risk a full-blooded female dying - not even this weak one.

He took a good long look at Kakarot when he finally decided he had all the crud and smell cleaned off of him. It had been nearly eight months since he had last trained with the other, and the difference in his frame was noticeable. Oh, not that he had ribs showing, or anything like that… just that his body had definitely wasted away. He really did seem a shadow of himself.

Absently, Vegeta shampooed Kakarot's tail, noticing that it was still full and thick… and still brittle and dry. A sign of pregnancy, and he'd known that… as had Raditz. Neither of them had even considered the possibility when they had discussed Kakarot's condition. Even his strange mood was in keeping, although Vegeta hadn't ever been told stories where the bearer had been in this bad of shape.

He rinsed the shampoo out, gently, stroking and ruffling the fur. Absolutely no response, not so much as a quiver. He frowned, yanked. Kakarot barely responded, only opening his eyes slightly before letting them fall again. Vegeta sighed, yanked the plug out of the tub, and collected a towel. He rubbed the younger man down, lifted him out.

Vegeta nuzzled against Kakarot's neck, licked twice. Kakarot stiffened, whimpered slightly. Vegeta raised his head, the scent of fear taking him by surprise. He frowned, bent again, and bit.

_Where am I? What happened? Vegeta said… said… no. He's wrong. Males can't get pregnant. He's wrong. I'm just sick. I've been sick for too long… I can't really be pregnant, can I?_ His thoughts trailed off as the nearby voices caught his attention - and the hands placed on his stomach.

"… very weak," Raditz said in a worried tone.

"Yes. A female, though. I've given her some chi, it would not due for her to die."

There was a long pause, warmth on his belly. "Yes, she accepts what's offered, doesn't she? I'll have to feed him more."

"No, bring him to Capsule Corp. tomorrow. I'll have Bulma arrange a room for him. He needs intravenous feedings for awhile, until he gets strong enough - and focused enough - to feed himself." A dry chuckle. "And as much as he hates needles, I'm sure that won't take long."

_Needles!!!!?_

"He hates needles?"

"Scared to death of them," Vegeta snorted. "He can be the next best thing to dead, but show him a needle and he'll be able to run away. And I do mean run. Not fly - he freaks out too badly to control his chi enough to fly."

"That's…" a pause, "pathetic." Another pause. "Whose is it?"

"I don't know. I think yours, from how weak she is. An older child should be stronger than that. But," a slight bit of doubt crept into Vegeta's tone, "considering how long he's let himself go to waste, I can't be sure. If she's mine, it's doubtful she'll have strength enough to survive the birth. We'll know in two months."

"Two months?" Raditz blinked. "Oh, she'll be born if yours."

"Yes."

A sigh. "Another… hmm… five if she's mine."

"What?" He felt one of the hands press more firmly. "The child is far too weak to be that far along."

"I haven't had him but the once."

A trace of fear. "Too weak. I've got to go. Bulma will have the room ready for you by 8am tomorrow. Have him there."

"Yes, Prince Vegeta." Footsteps going away.

_I don't understand?_ His hand brushed against his stomach as he tried to focus. _There… there is something! A little girl… I… how… the… what? How can this be? I'm male! Aren't I?_ The hand reached lower. _Yep, still there. I'm a guy. So… WHY AM I PREGNANT? How did this happen? Guys can't have babies! Wait. Human males can't. And… I… am… not… human._


	11. No Different

He could feel her. His daughter. The tiny child within his body. He trembled as full realization set in - he really _was_ pregnant.

He didn't want her.

Twice raped… by his prince, by his brother. He had… he had participated, overwhelmed by scents and unfamiliar sensations, the headiness of battles for dominance.

Battles he had lost. He, who was stronger than both his opponents. He had lost. And he didn't know why.

He didn't need any more reminders. His memories, ones he had pushed aside, tried to downplay, tried to ignore; his defeats - those were reminders enough. The toll his efforts to forget had taken on his mind and body were merely overkill.

He did not need any other proof.

But - she was there. A tiny life, with erratically flickering ki. A ki he did not want within him. He did not want…

His hand splayed over his stomach, eyes widening as the ki within dropped dramatically. She was dying?

Instincts he didn't know he had kicked in, he sustained her with his own energy. He stabilized her, fed her, supported her.

She was an innocent, and Goku had always protected and helped the innocent. This time, regardless that he did not want the child, was no different.

His brother was gone, grocery shopping, Goku seemed to remember him saying. He drug himself out of bed, made his way carefully down the stairs. He had never felt so weak! But, most of his energy was focused on his daughter now.

He made it to the kitchen, settling in one of the chairs. A meal, something light. Something that was neither underdone or burned, but cooked to perfection. His brother tried… Goku shuddered, standing slowly and making his way to the cupboards. He found the bullion cubes where they were supposed to be, his brother hadn't done much rearranging. The smallest soup pot would work, he didn't think he'd better have very much. Not the way his stomach had been acting up of late. Of course… that could just be Raditz' cooking.

Goku heated the broth, poking at the stupid bullion cube until it finally crumbled - dissolved? - into nothingness. And waited a bit for it to cool, for some reason deciding he didn't want hot broth after all. It tasted okay, seemed like it was going to stay put, and he felt a little better. He made some more, putting it into a big cup and taking it back to his room with him.

_What should I do? I… I don't want this baby! But… I can't kill her. She didn't do anything wrong._ He sighed. _If anyone did something wrong, it was me. I… I didn't fight enough. Hard enough. I…. I encouraged them. Both of them! Didn't I? I did… I remember. I gave Vegeta more opportunities to touch me… and I don't remember how many times Raditz warned me off his tail. I should have listened._ His eyes closed. _Oh gods, oh gods… who's the father?_

Silent tears streamed down his face as he sat hunched in the bed, curling himself protectively around his stomach. His daughter's ki flickered again, he stabilized her without thinking about it. It came to him suddenly that she could feel how he felt, knew she wasn't wanted. And she was trying… _No, baby, no… it's not your fault! I'm not mad at you._ "It's okay, I won't kill you. I don't do things like that. You just… grow," he whispered brokenly. And then he forced himself to set aside everything except the need to be strong and healthy, so that his daughter could be.

Silently, he drank his broth.


	12. Completed Bonds

"Hey, how you feeling?" Raditz didn't really expect a response. He'd not been getting any.

"Fine." Goku stared out the window. He really did like the view.

"You're speaking to me again?" Raditz sounded surprised.

"Yes."

"So are you going to tell me what the problem's been? Why you starved yourself?"

"I killed Chi-Chi," Goku said quietly. "I hadn't meant to, but I killed her."

His brother settled carefully on the bed, handed him an apple. "I thought you said she was sick?"

"She was." He bit into the fruit, a small bite. He'd force it to stay down, his daughter needed the nutrients. "The doctors did an autopsy, to see why she died, because there was so much blood around her when I found her. They told me that someone had raped her, really badly, and left her for dead." He took another bite of the fruit while Raditz thought that over.

"So someone attacked her," he said finally. "That doesn't mean you killed her."

"The illness… part of it was making her bleed easier. Sex with Chi-Chi was never something easy, I always had to hold back so I wouldn't hurt her." Raditz stifled a grimace and just grunted, recalling how many times a night he had listened to the woman's cries of passion. "No one raped her. It was just a normal night with me. That's all. I'd seen the blood earlier, when we got up, but she told me she was fine. I went out to train, cut up some firewood, and when I came back… she was in the middle of the floor in a pool of blood. She was still holding the plate of chicken she'd been taking in to the table. It was still hot and she was still warm, the blood was still bright red. I thought she was still alive, and took her to the hospital, but they told me she'd been dead awhile when I found her and there wasn't anything they could do. It was the first time we'd been together since she'd seen me… with you. That night before you found out I was ticklish." He never turned his gaze from the window, the words completely hollow, no emotion behind them.

_What the fuck do I say?_ Raditz sat quietly, knowing that saying the wrong thing would be even worse than being silent. His tail flicked behind him, he restrained it from stroking his brother soothingly only through sheer force of will.

Goku noticed the way his brother's tail wrapped around his waist, how stiffly he sat. He remembered how he had tried to comfort his brother with touches and strokes, petting… he remembered what had happened because of it, and how he had pushed his brother away the last time he'd tried to be comforting.

He didn't want to be comforted. He wanted to be punished. He sent his tail snaking out to twitch against Raditz' knee. His brother moved, pulling him into a careful embrace, wrapping his tail around his waist when he made no protest against being held. Raditz nuzzled gently against his neck, lapping gently where Vegeta had bit him. He winced.

"It hurts just a little, doesn't it?" Raditz whispered against the mark. He leaned back, tipping his head to show off a similar mark on his own neck. "Bit me, too. Still stings a little." He moved forward again, licking the wound on Kakarot's neck carefully. With any luck, his brother would react like a normal Saiyan.

Kakarot pulled back. Raditz looked up, expecting to see a normal Saiyan reaction. He saw, to his intense dismay, pain. _I don't understand! Does he have any reactions that are Saiyan? At all?_ Frustrated, he pulled his brother back against his chest, and bit the other side of his neck. Kakarot yelped, pushing ineffectually against Raditz as he continued to deepen the bite, lapping up the blood that spilled. And then, Raditz felt his brother's teeth sink into his own neck. _At last!_

But something was wrong. He felt nothing. He opened his eyes, leaning back to find his brother licking blood from his lips. At the shuttered eyes. He felt Vegeta's dismay through their half-completed bond, and with his new sensing abilities - one of the first things he'd been forced to learn - he felt the other man getting closer. "Kakarot?" And trying to reach him through the bond they had just formed, _Kakarot?_

His tail loosened from his brother's waist, twining instead with the still-unresponsive tail of the other. His hands rubbed lightly over the younger man's back, his shoulders, arms. Kakarot just sat there, letting himself be touched, not moving, not even blinking. "Kakarot?" His fingers curled into the man's shoulders, he shook him. No response. When Raditz slapped him, he didn't try to block, hanging limply in his brother's grasp. Raditz greeted Vegeta nearly ten minutes of blank unresponsiveness later with nigh hysterical relief.

"He won't say anything. Doesn't do anything. I can't feel anything! What's happened?" Vegeta calmed him by biting into his claim again, this time allowing Raditz to complete their bond. Raditz steadied as Vegeta's indomitable presence filled him, and he flushed with embarrassment. "I'm… sorry?"

"Hn." Vegeta turned to Kakarot, running his hands lightly over the other's still form. He paused a moment over Kakarot's stomach, feeding the small - but much stronger - child within. "She's stronger. That's good. What's this?" He pointed at the apple Kakarot still held, two small bites taken from it.

"Oh. I gave that to him. He took a couple bites while we were talking."

"Talking?" Vegeta, about to reopen the wound on his mate's neck, looked up. "He was talking?"

"Yes." At the slightly inquiring look, he added, "Said he killed his wife. The woman's illness made her bleed easier. She'd seen us together, hadn't let him in her bed. When she finally did, she bled to death."

Vegeta looked at the long-haired Saiyan a long moment before turning to nuzzle at the mark he'd made on his brother earlier that day. He lapped at it gently, slowly enfolding the impassive Saiyan close. Vegeta nipped lightly at his mark, felt the slightest quivering in the body he held. He tipped his own head a bit more, slowly biting down, drinking the rich blood that flowed into his mouth. Vegeta could feel Raditz urging his brother to return the marking, added his own compulsion.

The spiky head tipped slowly, lips sucking ever so slightly on Vegeta's neck. They parted, sharp teeth piercing deeply into his skin. A nimble tongue laved over the wound, and the mouth began to retreat. Vegeta's hand shot up, tangling in the wayward spikes, and pressed the lips close again. "A little more, Kakarot. Drink more."

Goku did as he was ordered, drinking until Vegeta's grip was released. He sat back, waiting. Waiting for the punishment he knew he deserved. Instead, his brother took Vegeta's place as Vegeta moved behind him, and he drank more of his brother's blood. _Why? What's so important about this? I just want to be punished… but they both want the girl to live. Maybe this is all they can do until she is born. That makes about as much sense as anything else. I should finish the apple._

Drawing back from his brother, he raised the apple, taking another small bite.

_What just happened?_

I don't know. I've never heard of such a thing… not even in the barracks back on Vegeta-sei, and they had a story for everything! Vegeta… the name said with so much hurt and longing, _what happened to him? None of his responses are remotely Saiyan! He only… only looks like one. And fights like one. What is WRONG???_

Vegeta was silent. He sat behind Kakarot, Raditz in front of him, both curled around a mate who didn't even seem to notice their existences. There wasn't so much of a trace of Kakarot in his mind, though the bond was fully formed. _I don't know, Raditz. I can't feel him. You should have the bonds of both mate and brother. Can't you feel anything?_

Nothing. Not even on my brother bond. Why do you think I was so frantic? The moment our mating bond was fully formed, it was like he ceased to exist for me. I couldn't feel him at all! Raditz purred, rubbing his face against his brother's chest, hoping for a physical response. All his brother did was take another bite of the apple. "Dammit, Kakarot! You told me you were speaking to me!" he exclaimed.


	13. Too Unfamiliar

Goku looked up. "I am."

"Then tell me what is wrong!" Raditz nearly begged, his tail twining agitatedly around his brother's. "Why didn't you answer me? Or Vegeta? Why can't I feel you anymore!"

"Calm down, Raditz," Vegeta ordered, his tone conveying annoyed reassurance. "Kakarot?"

"What?"

"How do you feel?" Vegeta slid his arms around the taller man, resting his cheek against his back.

Goku considered that. Vegeta was curled around him, cuddled up to his back, tail twined with his and Raditz'. He sat in Raditz' lap, his brother's mane tickling his chin, purr vibrating through him as his brother held him close. His stomach was more settled than he'd expected after all the blood he'd had to drink, and he was even slightly hungry. "I'm a lot tired, a little hungry, and I feel like an oversized teddy-bear," he said finally, unwilling to admit he didn't want the attention they were giving him. It was uncomfortable, unpleasant, even. But it was the closest to punishment they seemed willing to do, and it was punishment only because he didn't want it.

His brother's purr cut off, unhappy eyes looking into his own. "You feel… nothing else?"

Again, Goku was quiet, assessing himself carefully. "My neck hurts where you bit me," he said finally.

Raditz and Vegeta exchanged looks over his shoulder, Raditz burying his face into his brother's neck where he'd claimed him. To his shock, Goku felt hot tears against his skin, and the strange jerking of his brother's body as he tried not to cry. Behind him, Vegeta had pulled away, no longer pressed against him, but his head still resting on his back so that his hair tickled Goku's neck, one hand on Goku's shoulder, the other stroking Raditz' hair soothingly.

"You feel pain from the marks?" Vegeta asked tightly.

"Yes."

_My brother… what is wrong with him? It's not just his pregnancy, not that he believes he killed that woman. I should be stronger._ Raditz hitched a breath or two, sitting up a bit straighter, but unable to meet his brother's eyes. One last tear slid down the track on his face, poised for an instant when it reached his jaw, then fell to land on and run down Kakarot's chest. "Kakarot…" He stopped as his brother's eyes slid shut. Raditz' lips trembled. "Goku, please…"

"No… my name is Kakarot…" he whispered. "I… am Saiyan."

"Are you?" Vegeta asked quietly. "Your responses are not those of a Saiyan. Only when you fight have you ever had the responses of a Saiyan. The only other purely Saiyan response is your pregnancy. Your body is undeniably that of a Saiyan breeder. But you've responded badly to the pregnancy and to the claiming, things a Saiyan takes for granted."

Sharp eyes suddenly met Raditz'. "Your father, Bardock. Did he have an off-world alliance?"

"I… don't think so. Kakarot was born on Vegeta-sei."

"And raised as an Earthling with no memories of his people." Vegeta leaned against Kakarot again, his fingers trailing now along his sides. "Perhaps you were right, Raditz. Perhaps that is the root of the problem. All of this, all of our ways, are too unfamiliar."

Goku sighed, just a little, and leaned against his brother. "I'm tired," he murmured.

"Shh…" Raditz' arms were around him, lifting him gently to settle him in Vegeta's lap. Raditz moved from the bed, his tail slipping free of the grips of the others' tails. He adjusted the pillows, then pulled his unresisting brother from Vegeta's lap, allowing the prince to rise. He settled Goku back against the pillows. "There. You rest."

His words fell on deaf ears. Goku was already asleep.

"The pregnancy is sapping him," Vegeta stared at the still figure on the bed. "Tomorrow, Raditz. Bring him to Capsule Corp. Feed him first if you can. And bring him in the car." Vegeta flipped a capsule to Raditz. "You can drive?"

"Yes, I can drive," Raditz muttered irritably, snatching the capsule from the air. "His wife made sure of that."

Vegeta smirked, then looked down at the sleeper. "Of course, he still needs a good, old-fashioned, Saiyan fuck-fest."

Raditz' eyes gleamed, then dimmed a bit. "Not now. There's the child to consider. She's far too weak to survive that."

"No, not now," Vegeta agreed.


	14. Hunger

Raditz followed Vegeta down the stairs to the door. The prince turned there, pulled him into a heated kiss. He molded himself against the royal, the exchange of thoughts through their bond lightening fast. "I'll be there in the morning, Vegeta."

"Mmm…" Another kiss exchanged, and the prince was gone.

Raditz watched him out of sight. With a little sigh, he shut the door, then leaned against it. Again, he searched for the bond that had tied him to his brother, but the fragile thing was gone. Slowly, he made his way up the stairs. Entering the bedroom, he settled in the chair at the end of the bed.

His brother shifted slightly, his tail falling from beneath the blankets to hang limply touching the floor. Raditz frowned, moving from the chair to kneel by the edge of the bed. He gathered his brother's tail up with his own, sending his tail snaking under the blankets to lay Kakarot's tail across his body. His tail retreated, brushing lightly over his brother-mate's groin before coiling properly around his waist.

The light touch broke Goku's sleep. He sat up, turning to face his brother, still kneeling next to the bed. "I'm hungry."

"Hungry?" Raditz blinked, not having expected the other to wake, much less declare hunger. "I… I have some more apples."

"Yes."

Raditz' tail looped out, capturing the basket near the chair. He chose a smallish apple from it, offered that to his brother. To his surprise, Kakarot wolfed it down, then demanded another. And another. Soon, he'd eaten them all. "Kakarot?"

"I'm hungry," Goku whined.

"Shh… you lay down now, I'll go get you something else to eat."

"Mrrrrr…" Goku leaned back against the pillows again. "Hungry."

_Vegeta? He's awake. He's hungry._

!!!

Ate all the apples. I'm fixing him some of what I had for supper

Blech.

Can you feel him? Hear him? I still can't.

There was a period of silence, then a negative response. Raditz shook his head, battering around in the kitchen, fixing his brother the amount of food he'd been eating. After a moment's hesitation, though, he thought better of that and piled up enough for four Saiyans. Kakarot eyed the tray when he carried it in, and tore into the food as soon as he put it down on the bed.

He watched his brother eat in bemused silence, feeling Vegeta's equal confusion in the back of his mind. What he considered enough to feed four mildly hungry Saiyans vanished. Kakarot looked at the pile of empty dishes. "Hungry…"

"Still?!"

"Hungry," Goku repeated, whining again. His tail whipped the tray of empty plates toward Raditz. "More!"

He caught the tray out of sheer reflex, stood there blinking in bewilderment. Kakarot looked at him, his expression becoming increasingly petulant. His next demand for more was definitely a demand, though still whiney. Raditz went back to the kitchen, made up another tray.

He carried it back up the stairs to find his brother sitting back on his heels on the bed, the blankets shoved aside. Black eyes tracked the tray's progress across the room, tail twitching with impatience. Raditz settled the tray before his brother. Kakarot dove in with the same enthusiasm he'd shown for the last batch.

It occurred to Raditz that maybe his brother shouldn't have quite so much all at once - after not having eaten for awhile. He took the tray away, nearly dropping it in shock when Kakarot snarled at him. He turned. "None of that! You've had plenty!"

His brother slunk back against the bed, whimpering, pleading eyes pinned to Raditz'. He smiled, set the tray on the floor near the door. "You wait one hour, and if you're still hungry, you can have some more." He stretched out next to the tray, and proceeded, much to Kakarot's obvious dismay, to feed himself.

The younger man whined, then slowly eased himself from the bed. He crawled across the floor toward his brother, darting little glances toward the food every now and then. But he didn't try to get to it. Instead, he curled up, resting his head on Raditz' thigh, his tail lazily swishing over his stomach, and started purring.

Raditz found himself chuckling at the obvious ploy, but found he wasn't proof against the pleading gaze his brother-mate turned on him. With a little sigh of resignation, he gave in, hand-feeding Kakarot. _At least this way, I know he won't eat too fast!_ He continued, until the food was nearly gone._ Mmmm… hey! I'm not dinner!_

He pulled his fingers back, only to have Kakarot pull his hand back down so he could suck on his fingers again. And in spite of how weak he appeared, his brother was still stronger than he was. Raditz found he couldn't pull away, and after a moment, stopped resisting. _What the hell is going on? I still don't feel him… but the way he's acting… I wonder if he can feel me?_

Raditz examined his brother, the too thin body and the hollows under his eyes. Dark hollows, as if his brother hadn't been getting any sleep. Perhaps he hadn't. At least, not restful sleep. Kakarot looked at him, slowly letting go of his hand, his tail stopping its lazy swishing to coil around the too-thin waist. His brother whimpered, then crawled back over to the bed, burrowing under the covers.

Raditz frowned, gathered up the dishes again, and took them down to be washed. Their bond was complete, but it didn't work like any bond he'd ever heard of.


	15. Passive

Raditz woke to the unusual feeling of having his toes sucked. He yelped, jumping to stand in the chair he'd fallen asleep in, then looked down to see his brother looking up at him, curled in on himself in fear. He sighed, stepping down to the floor, and dumped the other man back in the bed. "Why are you up?"

"Hungry?"

Raditz examined the younger man, his frown firmly in place. Kakarot looked at him hopefully even as his tail snaked out to brush softly against Raditz' thigh, patting. Raditz caught it absently, fingers ruffling through the fur. He dropped it at his brother's response.

"Sex?" His brother was suddenly nuzzling against his bare stomach, pressing against him.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Raditz gasped as his brother licked him, arms circling to begin a delicate petting of his tail. "Stop that!"

He stopped. Immediately. He curled up, his tail tucking between his legs instead of wrapping around his waist, his hands pulling his knees closer, his head ducking to hide in the little space between knees and chest. Raditz gaped at him. He sat on the edge of the bed, reaching a tentative hand toward the younger Saiyan. Kakarot didn't move. He ruffled his brother's hair.

Kakarot looked up, the pensive uncertainty in his eyes shocking his brother. "Are you hungry?"

"Food?" The eyes became slightly more hopeful.

"I'll get you something to eat." His brother's eyes brightened. Raditz shook his head in confusion, and retreated to the kitchen. He spent some time just clattering around before actually attempting to make anything. The resulting mess didn't even look appetizing, but his brother ate every single bite.

"Come on. You've finished. Just got to get you cleaned up and dressed." He wasn't too surprised when the younger man immediately headed for the bathroom, or when he heard water running a moment later. Raditz began the task of untangling his mane, but his thoughts were on his brother-mate. Never once had he heard of such a strange bond. He still couldn't feel his brother, not on mate bond or brother bond.

But his brother was obviously getting something from him. He'd gone to bed when Raditz had thought he should, and reacted to his lust and anger. Raditz glanced out the door. Was it possible his brother would feel the prince as well? He'd find that out soon enough. Today, Kakarot was going to get some tests done.

Kakarot was back, pawing through the orange _gis_ stored in the closet. Suddenly, he stopped, and shoved them aside. From the back shelf, he pulled out a pair of green pants and a light gray shirt. He donned them quickly, then turned to Raditz. Raditz looked him over. The shirt clung to his brother's body, while the pants threatened to fall off slender hips. Bare toes peeked from beneath the hems of the flared legs.

"That'd be provocative if you weren't in such shitty shape," Raditz said, but his tone was approving. Kakarot's tail swayed lazily behind him, and Raditz found himself grinning when he smelled the musk. "Tempting me, little brother?"

The musk got stronger. Kakarot glided across the floor, his tail swiping quickly across Raditz' bare stomach before looping around his thigh. Kakarot pressed up against him, purring, fingers delicately tracing around Raditz' tail.

"Not now, little brother." Kakarot's hands dropped from his tail, settled at his waist. "I've got to get dressed yet. We're to see Vegeta today."

Bright eyes examined him. "'Geta?"

"Yes. We'll go see him once I've dressed." He disentangled himself from his brother, set about getting himself dressed. The instant he was, he felt a soft touch on his arm. The world disappeared, spun an instant, and reappeared. "What the!"

"Instant Transmission," a dry voice informed him. "Apparently, he was ready to come see us."

Raditz sent the day's events in a rather complicated thought-burst. Vegeta turned to regard the youngest Saiyan. Kakarot moved to him instantly, dropping to his knees and twining his tail with the prince's, purring when Vegeta brushed his fingers through the spiky hair. "Interesting. Come, Kakarot. Bulma is waiting for you."

Raditz followed the prince and his brother. Vegeta lead them to a small white room, and motioned to the chair. Kakarot settled himself into it, looking expectantly at Vegeta. Vegeta merely turned to Bulma. "Well, get on with it."

Bulma moved a small tray closer to where Goku sat. "Oh, honey, what's happened to you? You're so thin! Here, let me have your arm, and I'll just sterilize it right here." She suited action to words, then pulled the cloth covering the tray back. "Now, just sit still, and I'll draw some blood. I need it for some of the tests Vegeta wants me to do."

Raditz suddenly remembered that Vegeta had said that his brother was terrified of needles. He glanced at the one the woman held, then focused on his brother. _No fear, little brother. Let her do as she needs to._ He was surprised when Kakarot's eyes sought him out, looking almost questioning. He then turned his attention to the needle Bulma held against his arm, not even wincing when it pierced his flesh.

To Raditz, it seemed like his brother was fascinated with the little tubes that Bulma filled. He showed no sign of the terror that Vegeta had described, but there was a definite child-like interest. His brother made a little noise of disgust when the needle was removed and his blood ran. "Come."

Kakarot moved, coming to a halt before Raditz, and holding out his pierced arm. Raditz glanced down at the tiny droplet that had developed, then bent his head and swiped his tongue gently across the younger man's arm. The droplet vanished. Kakarot purred, his tail twitching behind him a moment before slipping to wrap around Raditz' thigh. Vegeta looked at them in something much like amusement. "How very touching."


	16. Place

"Now, someone tell me how this can be possible?" Bulma charged into the room, waving a batch of papers. "What has happened to Goku!?"

"Stop screeching and tell us what it says," Vegeta recommended dryly.

"According to these blood samples, Goku is anemic and female!"

"Female?" Raditz asked, managing to convey boredom. "He's got a dick. He's no female."

She rattled the papers. "His blood samples all say he's pregnant!"

"We knew that, woman. It's the rest of his health we were worried about."

Bulma sank to her knees, eyes wide. "You knew… he wa… but… I…" She continued in that vein for a moment. "Goku's a guy!"

"Kakarot is a bearer," Raditz informed her.

"What?"

"A Saiyan male capable of conceiving and carrying young," Vegeta elucidated. "A pregnancy lasts ten months. Kakarot has either two or five months left of his pregnancy, and the girl is weak."

Raditz shuddered at the look his prince gave him. "And you should probably test Raditz as well."

"I'm no bearer!"

"How do you know? Come, I will allow the test on myself as well."

Still protesting, Raditz followed Vegeta down the hall to the lab, and settled in a chair. Kakarot had followed them, and watched the proceedings with the same child-like interest he had the last time. "Blood?"

"Yes, yes, she's taking my blood," Raditz told him. Kakarot crawled up onto his lap, watching with fascination as a tight-lipped Bulma jabbed a needle in his brother's arm and began filling vials. When she withdrew the needle, Kakarot dipped his head, delicately licking the small droplet that appeared. He did the same to Vegeta, who mussed his spikes.

Bulma put the vials in the appropriate diagnostic machines, then turned back to the Saiyans. Her back was ramrod straight, and her voice like ice. "Who got Goku pregnant?"

"We don't know," Vegeta told her, continuing his petting. Kakarot's tail waved happily behind him, a gentle musk gradually beginning to fill the room.

Raditz grinned, scenting it. His tail reached, stroking down Kakarot's arm. "Don't be provocative, little brother. It makes the lady unhappy."

Kakarot's head whipped around, huge eyes meeting Bulma's. He made a sound like a kicked puppy, and slunk over to her, nudging her hand with his head.

"Vegeta. What is wrong with Goku?" She dropped to her knees, hugging him. His tail looped around her waist.

"I do not know. That is why you are running tests, woman. I think it has to do with his pregnancy. First he was not eating, then he stopped talking, and now this…. His reactions are unlike those of any bearer Raditz or I have ever heard of. Bearers are known for mood swings similar to those of humans, but none have ever been known not to care for themselves or their cubs."

She tipped Goku's head. "Are these bites?"

"Yes, woman."

"From what?"

The older Saiyans exchanged a look. Vegeta shrugged, Raditz spoke. "An experiment. Bearers have always been life-bonded. We thought perhaps the lack of a bond was the problem, but it doesn't seem to be."

"Life-bonded?"

"Mated," Vegeta informed her succinctly.

"You… what?"

Raditz answered. "Vegeta and I formed a three-way mating bond with Kakarot, hoping it would help."

She stood, her face slowly turning red. Her hands fisted. At her feet, Kakarot whined piteously, but didn't move. "Who is the father of Goku's child?"

"We don't know."

"But you know when he could be due."

"Yeah."

Kakarot, tail still wrapped around her waist, followed her to the console. She selected a long needle, and poked him in the stomach, filling a tiny vial. The computer beeped, chattered, then spat out a stream of papers. "Oh, the results of your tests are in."

She scanned them, then leaned suddenly against Kakarot. "According to this, you're all pregnant."

"WHAT?" Two identical, half insulted, half outraged, completely disbelieving voices roared.

"Sit. Both of you." Once more, she pulled out an excessively long needle. Raditz, remembering what she'd done with that one, wrapped his tail very firmly around his waist and refused to go near the chair. Vegeta promptly yanked him onto his lap and pulled his shirt up. The needle went in, a tiny vial filled, and that was it. Vegeta pushed him away and suffered similar treatment.

The three small vials went into the machine, she pushed buttons. Kakarot held her when she leaned back against him again, making little sounds of distress and continuously glancing at his mates. After a moment, the machine chattered again. Bulma disentangled herself from the tail and marched toward the papers it spit out. Kakarot darted across the room, buried his face against Raditz' stomach, and wrapped his tail around Vegeta's thigh. Twin auburn tails wrapped around his waist.

Bulma pulled three sheets from the printer. She read each one, then made her way to the only empty chair in the room. She sat. Looked up. Glared at them.

"Well?"

"Two of the children are yours. The other is Raditz'. Two boys and a girl."

Vegeta and Raditz exchanged a look. Raditz looked back at Bulma. "What?" he croaked.

"You heard me. And since Vegeta couldn't have impregnated himself, I am sure you know exactly what that means." She drew herself up. "I would suggest, Vegeta, that you make other living arrangements."

"Why?"

"I have no reason to keep an unfaithful husband around. Get out. You'll get the divorce papers in the mail."

At his feet, Kakarot began trembling. At his side, Raditz stood glaring. Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"You are no longer welcome in my home."

Kakarot keened, a wail that pierced his ears. His tail clutched more tightly around Vegeta's thigh, one hand moving. The next moment, the examination room had vanished, and they were in Kakarot's home.

"Um, Instant Transmission?" Raditz guessed.

"Kakarot, take me back this instant! I have not finished speak…. Kakarot?"

Kakarot had curled around his belly, mewling pathetically. His tail had dropped from Vegeta's thigh to wrap around his knees, and his head was buried between his arms, hands clasping his neck. The mewling was punctuated with little whimpers of pain. "Kakarot? What is wrong?"

Vegeta and Raditz both dropped to their knees, reaching out to their mate. His cries were taking on the quality of the keening he had done just before he'd removed them from Capsule Corp. "Little brother, quiet yourself. Tell me what is wrong."

Raditz and Vegeta wrapped Kakarot with arms and tails. Their eyes met over his bowed head, but neither knew what to do with the forlorn sounding Saiyan they held. The keening had muted, no longer hurting their ears, but had not let up. Kakarot sounded heartbroken.

"Little brother! What is wrong?"

"Hurts!"

"What is it that hurts, Kakarot?"

"Hurrrtttssss…." he wailed, clutching himself tighter.

"Concentrate on him being calm!" Raditz said suddenly. "The bond seems to work that way. He acts how we think he should!"

"In that case, he should be in a state of lust," Vegeta snapped.

"Lust works for me." Raditz slipped his tail to caress his brother's groin, closing his eyes to concentrate on what he would prefer Kakarot doing instead of his incessant crying. A moment later, Vegeta's tail joined his. Their holds loosened, hands stroking skin and ruffling tail.

It was a matter of moments before Kakarot was returning their caresses, tipping his head back to bare his neck to their teeth. His pathetic mewling became an encouraging purr, his tail gliding lazily from one lap to another. Vegeta raised his head, licked a stray drop of blood from his lips. "I like this bond."

"Mmm, yes." Raditz lifted passion-glazed eyes to Vegeta's. "But the girl is still too weak for playing, and I am not sure what this _anemic_ Bulma spoke of is."

"Iron deficiency," Vegeta replied, but he drew back. "You're right, of course. Damn you."

Raditz flicked Vegeta's nose with his tail. "There is nothing wrong with me."

"Nothing, except that you are pregnant. As am I," Vegeta added, sending Raditz a death glare. Between them, Kakarot curled up again, but remained silent. "I do not appreciate that."

"Ah!" Raditz opened his mouth, beginning to protest, then resorted to one of his brother's tricks and pouted. "You told me to." He smirked, "Besides, bearers get laid all the time, if there ain't nothing wrong with 'em."

Kakarot slipped from between them unhindered. He crawled to the end of the couch and curled by the wall, watching his two mates disinterestedly, even when clothes came off and the growling became passionate. He wasn't wanted, and he needed to be out of the way. He watched them only so he could move if it was necessary.

His tail curled intimately around himself, not really trying to ease the feeling his mates had forced on him, but to comfort himself. There was something wrong with him, and his mates didn't want him after all. Watching them roll, fighting for the dominance the younger would cede, he wondered hazily why they had claimed him if they didn't want him.

The cub. The girl cub, he remembered. They had claimed him to save the cub he bore. Hadn't Raditz brother-mate said so? And hadn't Vegeta alpha-mate agreed? They wanted him for breeding, nothing more. He hadn't even been allowed to remark the claims he had made, as they were doing now. If he had not known his place before, he did now. He was nothing but a breeder.

A single tear escaped. Quietly, he slipped from the room, returned to his bed. He should sleep. Raditz brother-mate had been worried about him not getting enough good sleep. Carefully, Kakarot arranged his bed into a proper nest, then curled up and closed his eyes. He would try to please his mates. He would be a good breeder. One hand splayed over his stomach as he focused on his daughter, and established the continual ki-feed that should have been in place months before. Awhile after that, he did sleep.


	17. Worry

It was dark when he woke, and his mates were curled on either side of him. Both were asleep. He stretched, carefully, trying not to wake them, and caught the scent of food. His head popped up, body flowing sinuously from the bed to glide across the floor. A tray on the dresser yielded a dish of cold meat and warm applesauce.

He ate it, knowing it had been brought for him, but that his mates had let him sleep. He took the tray and dish down to the kitchen, automatic movements gathering and preparing more food. Finally sated, he stepped out the kitchen door into the back yard, tipping his head to search the skies.

Vegeta. His birthplace. He stared at the winking red dot for a moment, remembering the things he had been taught. Vegeta was gone, now, but the light would continue to shine from where it had been for years after he died. Or was he seeing the light of Vegeta's primary, and not the light that had reflected from the planet's surface?

He didn't know, and didn't care. It wasn't a place he had ever been expected to return to. Had it? Goku fought free of the haze that had surrounded him the past few months, staring at the flickering starlight. He'd been sent to destroy the planet. Somewhere, the pod he came in must still exist. Probably even still worked. It must be somewhere close to where he'd lived with his Grandpa. He should have destroyed the planet's species, then returned home.

He would have died with the other Saiyans when Vegeta was destroyed, if he had. Unless, like as had happened now, his brother and prince took an interest in him. Goku wrapped his arms around himself. What he had done was so wrong. It had been his fault. But, neither of the other Saiyans saw anything wrong with it. Was this… activity something that happened regularly on Vegeta? Brothers being lovers? Sharing a lover?

He could feel them, in the back of his mind, knew that they had curled together, the smaller Vegeta tucked tightly against Raditz' chest and wrapped in protective arms. Knew that Vegeta was still unhappy, that Raditz was still upset. Knew that as soon as either of them woke up, he'd lose himself to the force of their bond. Because he had submitted to them both.

His daughter was Vegeta's. Goku stroked his stomach, feeling how his daughter's ki had improved since he'd set up the feed properly. Vegeta's child. What he had done with Vegeta didn't bother him so much as the result. The baby girl was the rift that had torn Vegeta's family apart. He wondered, fleetingly, if Bulma had told Trunks or Bra yet, and knew that she would have. Trunks would probably show up to rationally explain why his mother was so upset, and Bra would shop.

Vegeta's child. A full-blooded Saiyan daughter. And he would have a full-blooded son as well. Two sons, both with Raditz.. And… Raditz?

Kakarot slipped back inside, making his way hastily to the bed he'd left, and nuzzled his brother's arm. "Oh, there you are. You okay now?"

"Sex?" His tail wagged.

"Dammit, Kakarot, is that all you think about?"

He'd said the wrong thing? But… oh. The baby. He drooped his head, his tail falling to thump limply against the floor. "Bad sex," he whispered. "Good sleep? Good eat?"

"Oh, little brother," Raditz whispered, "no, Kakarot. Come here." He sat up, pulling Kakarot into his lap and wrapping his tail around the thin waist. Kakarot shivered against him, not quite crying, not exactly not crying. Raditz petted him, nestling his brother close until he'd calmed a little.

"No, Kakarot. Sex is good, but not yet. You're too near your time, and ill besides. When you get better, after the baby is born, then sex. For now, eat and sleep, so you can be better." Raditz tipped Kakarot's head, his own dipping so that he could reach his brother's neck. He bit down, but pulled away almost immediately when Kakarot began to whimper. "Kakarot? What is it? Do the marks still cause you pain?"

"No."

Gentle fingers wiped a tear from Kakarot's face. "Brother-mine, what is it? Why do you cry?"

Kakarot shook his head, the odd little whimpering escaping again. "No words."

"I do not understand this bond we have," Raditz said in some frustration. "I cannot _feel_ you anymore, little brother. This mating bond does not work as it should, and has destroyed the brother bond we shared."

"Feel you."

"I know you can feel me, little brother." Raditz let his tail caress his brother's cheek. "You react to everything I feel, yet I can feel nothing from you. I cannot hear you, I don't even know if I can speak to you."

"Can hear."

Kakarot?

The younger burrowed against him, sucking on the end of his tail. "Don't!" Raditz yanked his tail away, wrapping it once more about his trembling brother's waist. "Why do you do that?"

"Sex…" his brother answered despondently. "Feel want, need. Desire. Anger, upset, hurt. Sorrow."

"Don't do it again, Kakarot. No matter what you feel, don't do it unless I say to." Raditz pushed his younger brother away, stared at him. Saw the naked longing in the look Kakarot gave him, and realized suddenly that the look was not directed at him, exactly. He tipped his head. "Bite me, little brother, and drink. Renew your ties."

Sharp teeth bit through his neck, his brother acting like a leech. Raditz held him close, cupping the back of his head gently, somehow managing to purr. The long body he held gradually relaxed, the tongue lapping to seal the wound. "That better?"

"Yes."

"Get some sleep now. Come to bed." He laid down again, tucking his brother up next to him. "Rest, little brother."

His brother curled trustingly against him, but Raditz could feel the tremors that occasionally shook the slender frame. He knew his brother was crying, and wasn't sure why. It was entirely possible, based on how the bond seemed to work, that Kakarot had no control over his tears, that they were caused by either him or Vegeta through the bond. And then again, it could be because of them, for other reasons.

_When did he become so simple?_ The thought alarmed him, as he realized that his brother had been acting even more strangely since they'd mated than before, when he simply wasn't talking or eating. He spoke no more than a child of two, maybe three years, and seemed to have the same level of comprehension. _I adjusted to how he was acting without even being aware of it until now. Kakarot… what has happened to you? You were innocent, but you weren't unintelligent. You just didn't think. Now… now it seems you _can't_ think. I don't think I've seen that baka smile of yours since I put you to bed, and you were never without that. Not even when you were telling me of your wife's death…. There is something very wrong!_

His tail lashed once before wrapping firmly around his brother's. Kakarot responded as he'd known he would, purring and arching back against Raditz before suddenly whimpering and trying to tug his tail away. _You don't understand, do you? You think that we stroke tails simply to arouse each other, but that isn't so. We twine them for comfort as well._ "Kakarot, I did not mean to confuse you. Twining tails is a gesture of comfort," he whispered, then began purring.

Once more, the whimpering stopped and a light, almost thready, purring came from his younger brother. Raditz concentrated on the man he held, willing him to sleep, and knowing that because of their bond, he would. Tiny snores soon told him of his success.

"He's asleep, then?"

"Yes. I'm worried about him though," Raditz rumbled through his comforting purr.

"I know. You think very loudly. I do not know what is wrong. Anemia would not cause such reactions. A bearer should not take such poor care of himself and his cub." Vegeta sighed. "And it certainly didn't help that we never thought to tell him about bearing, or the care of a cub. Or that he feels he is the reason his wife died. Or that he was raised as a weak human!"

Vegeta whacked Raditz across the thigh, then curled up against him, rubbing the sting away. His tail worked through Raditz' and Kakarot's, making a braid. "You're older than I am, are you sure you never heard of anything like this?"

"Vegeta, I never heard of a bearer becoming pregnant without first being bitten!"

"Bitten?" Vegeta sat up, letting the thin blanket slide slowly from his body. "Not marked? Just bitten?"

"Didn't you get any lessons on mating, my prince?" Raditz murmured quietly, still managing to continue purring.

Vegeta stared down at his mates, watching as they became clearer in the light of the rising sun. "A few, but I was young. Most of what I learned, you and Nappa taught me, and I don't believe mating ever came up. There weren't any females left."

A snort. "No, but Nappa was able to bear, and knew it. I had a very unpleasant shock when that woman told me I was pregnant!"

"You?" Ever so softly.

"I hadn't known I could. If I had…" A moment of quiet. "Yeah, I would have kept my mouth shut, same as Nappa."

"What?"

"He was the one who handled those lessons, if I remember right. I knew he could bear, and he told me if I ever told you, he'd see to it I'd never father children… or be able to fight again." A slight movement Vegeta translated as a shrug. "I was still trying to protect you as well as I could, and I couldn't do anything for you if I was in pieces, so I kept my mouth shut."

"Why not tell me?"

"First off, there was Zarbon's penchant for young boys. Then there was Dodoria's enjoyment of hurting things weaker than he was. And then there was the whole idea of raising infant Saiyans on Frieza's ship. Besides… would you really want to bed Nappa?"

"Urg. Wait, who says I would have bedded him?"

"And that right there is the best reason for not mentioning it!"

"Well, he obviously didn't tell me what I needed to know. Now Raditz… tell me."

Raditz adjusted himself and his brother more comfortably, and so he was at an angle where he could actually see the prince. "Well, it's been awhile. But…" Painstakingly, Raditz reconstructed the memories he had of the lessons he had been taught as a brat, and haltingly recited everything he could remember. Partway through, Kakarot woke up demanding food through streaming tears.

Vegeta left to fetch the man something to eat, Raditz tried to settle his brother down. "Kakarot, there's no need to cry." He wiped tears from his brother's cheeks.

"Is. Feel it. Hurts… hurts so bad." Kakarot put a hand to his chest, the other clinging to Raditz' shoulder. "Hurts, brother-mate."

Raditz laid his hand over his brother, concentrating, yet unable to feel any touch of his brother. "Is it your own pain?" he asked at last.

"No. Alpha-mate," Kakarot responded immediately. "Hurts. Lost. Pain. Failed. Hurt. Lost. Love gone. Pain. Hurts. Lost. Failed."

"I… I don't understand." _Vegeta?_ He sent a complicated thought burst, and got a searing one in return.

"Mad me!" Kakarot leapt from the bed, looking around frantically before darting into the closet and hiding behind the clothes. Raditz tried to drag him out, but his brother's strength was too far beyond him. Kakarot set his feet and began wailing, repeating "No!" as often as he could get it out of his throat between the sobs.

"Kakarot. Get out of there and come eat." The sharp command brought instant compliance, Kakarot stopping his tears and his struggle. Raditz landed on his rump, and his brother scrambled over him to get to the tray Vegeta had placed on the bed. Vegeta waited a moment to be sure that the young Saiyan was eating, and then turned to his mate. "What was that?"

"You got mad at him, I guess." Raditz shook his head. "Is some of that for me?"

"Yes." Vegeta looked back at Kakarot, busily stuffing his face. "Help yourself."


	18. Withholding

Kakarot looked up at the sky, his tail swaying happily. The sway got slower and slower, and at last ceased altogether as the tail lashed firmly around its owner's waist. Kakarot kept his eyes fixed skyward, but hurried toward the place where his mates trained.

He was crying when he reached the clearing, dropping to the side of his brother-mate, face down in a fresh crater. Alpha-mate landed near him, demanding to know what he was doing there. He pointed to the sky, at the bright dot now visible and coming closer, then tugged on his brother's shoulders and scooched himself under the bulkier body of that mate.

Vegeta watched in disbelief, then turned his attention skyward. Raditz, a bit stunned, simply started purring, trying to calm the bundle of nerves that was shivering against him. He turned his attention to the bright dot, identified its contents, and proceeded with the task of calming both his prince and his brother. The two were feeding each other's emotions to the point that Vegeta wasn't so stoic as normal. Finally Raditz smacked Kakarot and told him to ignore what Vegeta was feeling and to act like their alpha instead of sniveling.

He was a bit surprised when Kakarot took a deep breath and did just that, standing in a mirrored stance of Vegeta's pose. Raditz rose, irritably brushing dirt and bits of tree and grass from his clothes, not bothering to even look at the company that had just landed. He finger combed leaves and dirt out of his hair before acknowledging they existed by turning his attention to the one at the forefront of the triangle.

Apparently, his attention was some sort of signal for the brat. "What the hell is Mom talking about, Dad? She came to us with this cock and bull story about the three of you being pregnant and you two having raped Goku."

"We are and we didn't." Vegeta said calmly. "If that's all, Raditz and I were trying to train."

"You're all guys. You can't get pregnant." Raditz glared at his nephew. For a smart kid, he was awfully dumb.

"We're Saiyans, not humans," he snapped at the demi. "Saiyan males are perfectly capable of propagating the species."

"Hey Trunks?" the youngest of the trio whispered, approaching his friend, "what's propagating mean?"

Vegeta started laughing, having overheard the question and his son's rather flustered response. Goten's innocent, "Oh…. Can I do that too? Propagate?" set Raditz off, and he slung an arm around his slender brother to stay on his feet.

Kakarot smiled slightly, his eyes a little strained and mewled instead of laughing. His eyes darted from one to another, the strain deepening. Raditz pulled him up against his side, giving him an affectionate hug. Goten looked at them, then grinned. "Hey, can I?"

Raditz smirked at him. "Of course, boy. Or even the young Prince or the starched shirt over there."

Goten giggled. "Oh, then I think we need to have more sex. Lots more sex…" He leaned against Trunks, his tail twining hopefully around Trunk's waist. Trunks shoved him away, staring at his father.

"It's true? You got Goku pregnant?"

Kakarot mewled again. Raditz grabbed at him as he slipped away, missing when he vanished as Vegeta answered, "Yes, I did. And Raditz, as well."

"Are you?"

"By Raditz."

Gohan glared at them. "Did you rape him?"

"No, boy, not that you've shown any kind of concern about him."

Raditz tuned out the conversation, his attention on his younger nephew. The boy had gotten to his feet again, staring at Trunks the way one stares at the remaining half of a worm in an apple one is eating. His face grew ashen as the conversation went on. He turned suddenly and plunged into the trees. His lover and brother never noticed, too intent on questioning Vegeta about just exactly what had happened. Vegeta answered only exactly what was asked, and volunteered nothing. Suddenly, Raditz was coming in for questions.

He, however, was much more to the point. He moved, coming up behind Gohan, and grabbed the brat's tail, lavishing it with long strokes. The demi hit his knees, and he dropped his nephew's tail. "I told your dad to stop doing that to me, and he didn't. You know damned well he's stronger than I am, so don't try to tell me I raped him. He asked for what he wanted, and I gave it to him."

Raditz turned to Trunks. "And my relationship with your father is quite consensual, and very enjoyable, much like yours was with my nephew." Trunks flushed, and Gohan snarled. Raditz doubted either of them had noticed his use of past tense. Neither of them had yet noticed the boy was gone. He decided to mention it, rather annoyed at the youngsters. "And you might want to go find him. I don't think he was too happy when you shoved him off like that."

He turned back to Vegeta, powering up. "I believe we were sparring?"

He hugged the tree branch, his tail wrapped around it to ensure he stayed in the tree instead of falling. Tears ran freely down his face, a frustrated anger burning within him. What was _wrong_ with him? It was like being wide open to everyone! He could feel them, feel how they felt. He'd tried to do as his brother-mate had told him, but there had been too much to bear. He'd had to run. And that… that pain, after… he'd run even further to get away from it.

His mates would start wondering where he was soon. Would start calling him, and repelling him at the same time. They were still training, brother-mate hurting much more, feeling broken and weak. Alpha-mate just angry, and trying hard not to use too much power against his weaker mate.

Kakarot slipped from the branch, hanging from his tail. The pain was still there, too, almost like the despair he felt so often, with that touch of betrayal and hurt and shame. He knew those feelings, knew the feel of the one who hurt. Blood called to him. His tail loosened, dropping him. He grabbed the next branch, swinging down through the trees. Raditz called him, blood and bond pulling him towards the house he had lived in before he became other. He knew… that he had been someone else once. Knew it the way a nightmare is remembered, without any of the details. Alpha-mate calling, too, but resisting that he was calling.

Kakarot slipped through the trees, following his brother's call. Ended up on his knees with his head bowed, shivering at his brother's feet. Waiting for the wrath of the alpha that he could feel through the bond, hoping it would not be too bad. Feeling the demand that he explain why he had gone where he shouldn't have, and why he had run after. But no words were spoken, so he pretended not to know what was wanted.

Raditz stared down at his brother, then knelt and pulled him close. "You aren't in trouble, Kakarot. You didn't interrupt our training, the brats did that." He glared at Vegeta when he huffed, and stroked his fingers through Kakarot's hair. "You came to see the boys, didn't you?"

Kakarot lifted his eyes, just enough to see that Raditz didn't look mad, in keeping with what he felt. His brother-mate didn't feel angry, just a little disappointed. He tried to find the words he needed, and couldn't. He shook his head miserably, unable to explain, and unable to communicate with his brother or his prince the way those two were able to communicate with each other. He could have thought it for them, but he couldn't speak it.

"You didn't come to see the boys?" Raditz asked in surprise. "Then why?"

The silence stretched. Raditz lifted Kakarot's face, examining the tears that ran down his brother's face, the hopeless expression and defeated eyes. He looked over at Vegeta. "What did we do to him, Vegeta? He wasn't like this before we mated with him. He was depressed, but he was able to talk with us. What did we do?"

"So far as I know, all we did was bond him to us," Vegeta snapped, then sighed as Kakarot tried to bury himself in his brother's body. "Feed him and take him to bed. I can only think of one person who might be able to help. I'll… go see him."

Raditz stared at the stairs Kakarot had disappeared up before Vegeta had finished speaking. "I hope to hell he knows what is wrong." He moved to the kitchen and began putting a meal together for his brother, hearing the door slam behind Vegeta when he left. He moved around the kitchen mechanically, tossing things together without really thinking of what he was doing. Something he really shouldn't do, considering what the meal he prepared looked like, but he carried it up to the bedroom anyway.

"Kaky?" Raditz sighed when his brother crept out of the closet, crawling closer, his tail between his legs. He looked more like a whipped cur than a Saiyan warrior. "Come here, brother mine. I've got some food for you."

Kakarot crept closer. Raditz sighed and put the tray on the floor, sitting down next to it. "Come here, little brother." He added what he hoped was only a little compulsion, but from the way his brother suddenly scrambled to him, concluded that it had been too much. "Kaky, I don't know what's wrong. Here, drink before you eat."

Raditz tipped his head to one side, allowing his brother to renew their bond once more. He waited while his brother drank, but felt nothing even when the younger man pulled away at last and began tentatively picking at the concoction he'd made. Watching the very unenthusiastic nibbling, Raditz concluded that he'd mauled another meal. "Tell me why you came."

"Can't."

"Why?" Raditz pulled his brother up against him and chose one of the more appetizing-looking bits of stuff from the plate. "Can you tell me why you can't tell me?"

"I… can?" Kakarot answered uncertainly. He accepted the morsel Raditz fed him. When he'd finished it, he answered Raditz' prompting. "Not… good… thing. Not place. No…"

Raditz stroked his hair as he struggled to force words from his throat, tried the compulsion again, this time demanding an answer. It came in a rush.

"Not my place to warn of danger. Supposed to stay, be safe, not go into danger."

That was all he got. Kakarot slumped against him, and Raditz was horrified to see that blood trickled from his ear. He scooped his brother up and settled him in the bed, sending what he'd learned to Vegeta as he did. The blistering reply made his ears ring. He curled protectively around Kakarot, unable to think of anything more he could do for his brother.

He tamped down his emotions as much as he could, realizing that his brother would pick up on them, even unconscious. Raditz had woken more than once to his brother's silent screams and heartbroken sobbing… only to find his brother sound asleep, curled into the tiniest ball he could manage while sleeping between his mates. There had been nothing wrong with his brother. Vegeta had turned his back on him; Raditz had spooned against him, petting and stroking as he tried to soothe the younger man. He'd gotten better at withholding his emotions from his brother.

A tiny whine escaped Kakarot. Raditz raised himself to his elbow, and sighed. His control apparently wasn't so good as he'd thought: Kakarot was crying again. Raditz brushed the tears away gently, and after a moment's thought, began crooning a Saiyan lullaby. He didn't remember it all that well, but he tried, and gradually his brother's rest became quieter.

Raditz sat back up against the wall. He kept an eye on the younger man while he tried to determine just what Kakarot's cryptic words had meant, and then wondered if it had something to do with the bond. Leaning forward to rub his suddenly-restless brother's shoulder, he began reviewing _everything_ he'd ever heard about bonds, no matter how fanciful.

Family bonds… parent bonds… sibling bonds. Bonds between teammates, and bonds between mates. After awhile, he considered the bonds he held with his brother. His family bond with Kakarot had never been strong. Their sibling bond had been growing, but the mating had, to all intents and purposes, destroyed that, as well as the weak family bond. Their mating bond worked like no other he had ever heard of. Mating bonds should _not_ destroy other bonds that were in place. They _should_ allow the mates to become closer, as each should have been able to feel what the other felt, and speak telepathically.

But it wasn't happening. Kakarot began shivering, so Raditz pulled him up to rest against his chest. Kakarot drew one deep breath, then settled again. _I should have been able to soothe him with a thought. I should be able to feel what he feels, hear him when he calls. But I can't. I don't understand. No bond I've ever heard of would keep an alpha from being able to tell if his bond partner was in trouble - and Vegeta can't hear him either! He's our alpha. And I guess… the way Kakarot reacts to me, that I'm his alpha as well._

The troubled look in his eyes remained, as he sat stroking his brother's hair, offering the physical comfort his brother seemed to crave. When the sun began peeping over the horizon, Raditz laid Kakarot carefully in the bed, and went to make him some breakfast.


	19. What did we do

Goku stretched, rising from between his sleeping mates. He slipped from the bed, making for the bathroom. They slept on. He slunk down the stairs, unwilling to wake them and give up this brief bit of freedom. It was rare, these days, that he woke when both his mates were actually sleeping. One or the other always seemed to be awake, presumably to guard him.

He snorted, one hand going to his belly. Vegeta was protecting his daughter. Raditz was trying to protect him. Anyway, that's how they felt to him. Goku rubbed at his forehead, opening the refrigerator to swipe a midnight snack. He selected only a very few things before settling at the table.

The bond buzzed faintly at the back of his mind. He could feel both his mates, the sleepy satiation that filled Raditz' mind and the ever-present resentment and anger of Vegeta's. No longer hungry, he trashed the remains of the modest snack, and slipped out the door. The velvety darkness of the night seemed to welcome him, the stars that spangled the sky seeming to wink and twinkle their hellos.

A tiny smile crossed his face as he wandered further into the yard. This was his home. Had been his home for years. He'd offered his brother a home here…. The smile faded. He'd resurrected his brother, given him a second chance and a home, and lost his life as a result. He'd died before, but this was so much worse. He'd still been himself. Still been free, when he was dead.

He collapsed to his knees, trembling and frightened, wondering how much trouble he was in for being outside. His brother-mate flew out the window a moment later, landing lightly beside him. "Wanted to see the stars, Kakarot?"

Kakarot nodded, not lifting his head or trying to rise to his feet. With a sigh, Raditz dropped to his own knees and pulled his brother to his chest. "You aren't in trouble, little brother. Thirsty?" Raditz tipped his head to the side a bit, waiting.

Kakarot hesitated, then slowly moved, biting carefully into the offered neck. Finishing, he tipped his own. Raditz smiled a bit, and had started to bend when he stopped, staring at the tears leaking from tightly closed eyes. He could feel his brother trembling in his grasp. "Kakarot?"

The trembling became a bit worse, then stilled suddenly. The resulting tenseness was nearly as bad, but it was the fear in the now-open, liquid eyes that made Raditz draw away. "Little brother," he crooned, gently stroking Kakarot's cheek. "Little brother, I am not going to hurt you."

It was several minutes before Kakarot relaxed, but the tilt of his head had not changed. Raditz moved slowly closer, brushing his lips over his brother's before moving to his neck. He set his teeth, waiting a moment, then bit. He swallowed the first warm rush, then began lapping at the wound to help close it. He pulled away as soon as all hints of blood-taste were gone.

Kakarot's eyes were closed, tears leaking slowly from them. Raditz shook his head in bewilderment. "Kakarot? What is wrong? Did… did I hurt you?"

A short, violent shake of the other's head was his only reply. Raditz sighed, gathering his brother close against him, then rose and carried the younger man back into the house. Kakarot offered him no resistance at all, slumping against him as he carried him up the stairs to their shared room. He sat his brother on the edge of the bed, watching as the youngest Saiyan slipped silently beneath the blanket.

He crawled in himself, a little puzzled that Vegeta hadn't wakened, then wrapped his arms around the shivering form that suddenly pressed against him, whimpering slightly. Raditz began purring, trying to lull his brother back to sleep. Instead, the whimpering grew slightly louder, his brother lifting a hand to clamp over his mouth to try and muffle himself. Raditz shifted, propping himself up on one elbow to look down at his brother.

Kakarot's eyes were squeezed shut, his teeth drawing blood from the fingers he'd shoved in his mouth. His trembling stilled suddenly, his body going completely stiff until he gasped for breath. Deciding he was having a sleepless night, Raditz rose and dragged on a pair of pants. "Come on."

Kakarot slid instantly from the bed, dressing in one of the strange, dress-length shirts he'd begun favoring recently when told to get some clothes on. Raditz regarded the thing with disfavor, then had to reach out to keep his brother from yanking the offending garment back over his head. "Do not worry about it. Come."

Raditz headed downstairs, where they would not bother the prince. He settled into the chair his brother still used when doing the mending. Kakarot knelt at his feet, his hands behind him and head bowed. It took Raditz several minutes to remember when, and where, he'd last seen someone in that pose. His brother reeled away from him, hands up, warding off an expected blow.

He was on his knees beside his brother a moment later, gathering the shaking body close. "Never… never, Kakarot. Never with me. Never like that with me." _Vegeta… gods, what have we done to him? That he would kneel like that… to me… no…. This isn't right. Something isn't right. My bond with Vegeta is fine. What was different?_ "Shh, Kakarot, shhh… it will be better, little brother. I will make it better. Somehow, I will find a way."

Raditz stayed on his knees, rocking and crooning, until Kakarot fell asleep in his arms. He lifted the man from the floor, resuming his seat, and cradled the younger tightly against him. He kept up a rumbling purr, trying to keep his brother soothed. It wasn't the first time he'd woken to find his brother had left their bed, and he was pretty sure it wouldn't be the last. His brother needed all the sleep he could get. The babe was due soon… probably within the week.

And their crippled bond made the birth that much more dangerous for his brother. He would not be able to hear when Kakarot went into labor, would not be able to respond to the mental pleas he would not hear. And with Kakarot barely speaking, it was doubtful his little brother would even be able to tell them when the child was coming.

He and Vegeta still held to their usual pattern. They still trained most of the day, usually well out of earshot of the small house to avoid accidentally destroying it. Raditz stroked his fingers through wayward spikes, his purr faltering when he realized that if Kakarot went into labor while they trained, they would not know. They wouldn't be able to hear him scream, as far off as they usually were. And screaming was one thing his brother still did… though usually silently.

"What did we do to you?"


	20. Delivery

He could feel the faintest buzz of worry coming from brother-mate, knew it was for him. But the overlying feeling from both his mates was joy, closely followed by pain. He was happy that brother-mate was concerned, because he was well aware something was wrong. Something… because he hadn't always been like this. Occasionally, he picked up flashes of himself from their minds, flashes from before he went wrong.

Maybe brother-mate could figure it out, and then he would be fixed. It would be good to be fixed. Good to be able to talk again, to ask for what he wanted more than anything. He had tried last night, but his brother-mate's mental reaction had been so violent he'd gotten scared. Not just from the violence, but from what he had seen had caused the violence. That particular stance was one he would never take in front of his mates ever, ever, ever again!

He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. Brother-mate had been angry-scared. He hadn't meant to remind him of the bad monster, of living under it. He wished he could apologize, and somehow make it better. He was sorry now he'd sent brother-mate to… to… that place where he'd come from. He'd helped, he remembered the pain of the blast, but dimly, as if it had happened to someone else. He hugged himself a little tighter. It had happened to someone else. His other self. The someone he'd been before he got broken.

One hand dropped to rub absently over his daughter before his gaze swung to the window again. They were over that way, fighting. No, training. Brother-mate was losing again, and badly. He always lost badly, because he'd been gone a long time. Alpha-mate didn't really give him a chance to rest and recover. It was important to rest and recover when you got hurt. It helped make all the strong come back.

Kakarot sat up, shoving the pillows around on the bed again, and rebunched the blanket more comfortably. It still wasn't very comfortable, and it just didn't seem right, but it was better than before. Alpha-mate would be angry that the bed was messy instead of made, though. So… maybe…. He tugged here and there, slowly putting the bed back to rights, whining irritably as he did. Finishing, he looked around the room, then went to investigate the closet.

He poked through the clothes hanging there, pulling many of them down and flinging them to the back of the closet where they wouldn't annoy alpha-mate any more. Then he chewed on his lip, staring down at the pile of clothes. Alpha-mate and brother-mate would both be unhappy if he left a mess in the closet. Maybe he should just throw those things out? They wouldn't bother anyone then.

Raditz stumbled through the door, one arm wrapped around his battered ribs. Vegeta had been more brutal today than recently - they'd both been being more careful due to their condition. Waking up alone apparently didn't suit the still-snarling prince, and Raditz had paid the price for it.

He watched as Vegeta took off for a visit to his son before moving from where he was holding up the wall. He made his way carefully to the stairs, figuring Kakarot was still sleeping. His brother had taken to napping during the afternoon. Another indication that his pregnancy was nearing its end. Raditz was anticipating reaching that stage himself, but for now, he just wanted to check in before washing half a mountain out of his hair.

His ankle was throbbing by the time he made it to the top of the stairs, compliments of a bad landing. Out of Vegeta's sight, he leaned against the wall, hobbling toward the bedroom. He pulled open the door, leaning against the frame, then frowned. The room was empty. He'd passed the bathroom on his way to the bedroom, and it had been empty as well.

Raditz started to head back to the bathroom, then turned so suddenly his ankle gave out. He crashed into the doorframe, grabbing onto it to avoid hitting the floor. The bed was made. Kakarot never made the bed. Vegeta had bitched about that often enough, saying his stupid younger brother should still have brains enough to make the bed after he finished with it. But the bed was made.

So where was Kakarot? Raditz fought down a flare of panic, carefully searching for the familiar ki. And blinked, because if he was reading it right, his brother was in the empty bedroom. "Shit! I thought I learned how to do this right…" He tried again, this time looking for Vegeta (several miles off), Trunks (in the general vicinity of Goten, who did not have happy camper ki), and Piccolo (waterfall. Of course. Where else?). So he did his brother again, and came up with the empty bedroom, again. Which meant what? That his brother was under the bed.

He checked. It hurt his ankle and the abrasions on his knees, but he checked. No Kakarot. Not in the chair that had been turned to face the wall, not in the pile of pillows that were in the corner for some reason. His eyes turned to the closet. Kakarot hid in there, especially when Vegeta had done something to scare him. Carefully, he tested his bond with his alpha, and immediately went to the closet door. "Kakarot?"

Raditz opened the door slowly. Empty hangers met his gaze. Lots of them, where the garish clothes his brother had once worn usually hung. The clothes were on the floor now, shredded to rags. His brother huddled on a pile of them between two large boxes under a shelf, arms wrapped tightly around his shaking form. "Kakarot?"

Raditz levered himself down, thankful for the rags that cushioned his knees. "Kakarot? Why are you…" His brother was nude. "Kakarot? I'm here…" He held his arms out, encouragingly. Dark eyes lifted, a muted mewling escaping his brother before the younger man launched himself against Raditz.

That close, it was easy for Raditz to tell that the trembling that had apparently seized his brother was caused by contractions. "Kakarot, it's time. The baby needs to be born now." A wordless nod against his chest, and the feeling of hot, wet tears. Another muted mewling sound coincided with a contraction. Raditz frowned. From the way his brother clenched up, he should be in enough pain to make considerably more noise than he was.

He knew enough to know what would happen. And knew that it would likely be over before Vegeta made it back to the house. He sent a thought to his mate over their bond anyway, then turned his attention to helping his brother. Twenty minutes later he was holding his niece, and making his brother comfortable in the nest of pillows he'd wondered about earlier.


	21. Unwelcome Awakening

Raditz watched as his brother curled around the tiny girl cub, holding her tight to his chest. The infant rooted, soon finding a source of nourishment and began eating. Yet, something wasn't right. Kakarot stared down at the babe, eyes wide and frightened, and the babe whined as she sucked.

_It cannot be. It _cannot Raditz sank to his knees beside his brother. "Do you feel her energy?" Kakarot nodded. Raditz relaxed slightly, and stroked the child's head gently. He smiled, his face softening in a way it rarely did. "Hello, my little niece. I am your uncle, Raditz. Soon, little girl, your brother and your cousin will be born, and you will have other cubs to play with. Your father is on his way, and you will meet him when he arrives."

Kakarot shuddered. Raditz turned his attention to his brother. "Saa, little brother. Rest easy, now, and care for the babe. I will see to tidying up." Kakarot made no reply beyond curling more around the cub, so Raditz set out to clean up. The orange rags in the closet went mostly into the trash, except for the few he used to bind his ankle. He turned the chair back, then checked on his brother. Kakarot was drowsing, arm curled around his fussy daughter.

Raditz nodded, and headed for the bathroom. He was still sore and in desperate need of a bath. He'd managed to clean his brother up well enough before resettling him, but knew the younger needed a proper bath soon. He shed the rags still hanging from his frame, and stepped into the shower.

Bubbles frothed as he scrubbed muck from his hair and skin. He would have preferred a different scent, but the lilac shampoo and body wash were all that was available. Of course, he could have gone without soap at all, but then Vegeta would be sure to tell him he'd not managed to wash his stink off.

Raditz sluiced the last of the bubbles from himself with a sigh. Vegeta was coming home, but he wasn't in any hurry. He was still angry, even more so than when Raditz had admitted defeat and left the training field. His visit with his son had been going badly, then been interrupted by his less-favored mate giving birth to a weak child.

He toweled his hair briskly, getting the worst of the water out, then attacked the tangled mass with a brush he'd had to make himself. The plastic things humans found acceptable were to weak for him to use. He ran the brush through his hair, feeling for his niece as he did. Her energy level was low. Extremely low, even for a newborn Saiyan. Especially for a newborn Saiyan. Raditz had felt the levels of human infants, and this new Saiyan was even weaker.

Raditz set the brush aside and dressed, puzzling over the whys of it. Yes, Kakarot had starved himself, and yes, the ki-feed had not been properly established from the beginning, but she was the daughter of the two most powerful Saiyans alive. Two Saiyans who had proven to have extremely strong half-breed children, so why had such strength bypassed this full-blooded girl-child? Kakarot had not been bonded at the conception, and his bond was… faulty, for lack of a better term, but how could that make a difference in the child's strength?

He stared down at the two, both of them now sleeping. Kakarot slept restlessly, his tail lashing in agitation, head tossing. The cub slept no better, whining pitifully before opening dark eyes and rooting once more. The girl's cries became shriller, waking Kakarot. His brother shifted, sitting up more, and held the babe to a better feeding position. "You have no bond with the babe, do you?"

Kakarot bowed his head, obviously unwilling to face him, and shrank back against the pillows. Raditz crossed the room as quickly as his ankle allowed, and settled beside him. Reaching out, he lifted his brother's chin. His brother had teary eyes tightly closed. "What can I do, Kakarot? How can I help when I do not know why your ability to bond has been destroyed?"

"Destroyed, Raditz?" Vegeta strode through the door. "What do you mean by that?"

"How else to explain why our brother-bond no longer works, my prince? How else can I explain why our mate-bond may as well not exist, or why he is unable to form a parent-bond with his child?" Raditz stayed by Kakarot's side, head bowed in submission to his prince, his alpha. "I have no other explanation, save that his ability was somehow destroyed."

Vegeta stared down at them. Kakarot cowered back, absolutely silent. His daughter shifted restlessly, her tail twitching. Tiny fisted hands waved about, the girl whimpering. Kakarot turned her so that she could feed. "That is my daughter? That?" Vegeta snarled. "If she were not the only female Saiyan in existence, I would end her pathetic life now."

Raditz turned, gaping, at the sharp snap. "Kakarot!"

Vegeta kicked Kakarot through the wall. Raditz watched, horrified, as the prince tore into the damaged Saiyan. He sprang to his feet, interspersing himself between the two barely in time to deflect the blast that would have ended his unresisting brother's life. "You know what the bond does to him!" he shouted desperately, dodging the blow Vegeta aimed for him. "Your merest wish becomes his firmest command!"

He reeled backwards, mouth a bloody mess, and tried to block the rain of blows, the kicks and punches. Vegeta beat him into the ground, breaking one arm and both his legs before going after Kakarot once more.

He came to slowly, aware at first only of the agony of his body. He found himself unable to move fingers or toes, unable to bend elbow or knee. He blinked once, gazed up at the white ceiling for a moment, and closed his eyes once more.

"Kakarot?"

He opened his eyes once more, and blinked until his brother's face came into focus. "Ra-ditz?"

"Yes." Raditz reached out, hand hovering for a moment before dropping to his side once more. "You are at Capsule Corporation, Kakarot. I… I could not get to you without using my last senzu, and this was the only place I could think of to bring you."

He stayed quiet, cataloguing his aches and pains, trying to puzzle out what had happened, how he had gotten so very, very injured.

"Vegeta has not been here. He has not come the entire time you have been recovering. I do not know if it is because he regrets what happened, or because he will try to finish it if he sees you again." Raditz tried to smile and failed. "Or perhaps Bulma threatened him and he is too afraid to cross her."

"Vegeta?"

"Yes, he was… angry. You almost died."

He blinked. He was much stronger than Vegeta, so he must have really pissed the perpetually cranky prince off. "Why?"

"You do not remember?" Raditz hurried to help his brother when Kakarot tried to sit up.

"Nope. I must have pissed him off pretty bad."

"Ka… Kakarot?" _Can you hear me, brother?_

"What? Hey, do you know what happened?"

Raditz looked positively miserable, and slumped into the chair next to the bed. "Tell me, what is the last thing you do remember?"

"Well, lemme think. I had lunch, and then I went to get some firewood, and then I went hunting and I guess I must have met up with Vegeta for a spar, but I don't remember that."

_Can you hear me? Can you… can you still feel me? I think you cannot. I believe our bonds are well and truly broken._

"Ugh, it really hurts to move. What'd he do, break all my bones?" The younger Saiyan's laugh faltered at Raditz' expression. "You mean, he did?"

"Some of them twice," Raditz said quietly. "You have… lost much of your memory, Kakarot."

"Really?"

"I would estimate up to a year's worth, if the last thing you remember is going hunting. You have not hunted at all for at least that long."

"Why not? Chi-Chi would have my head on a platter if I didn't help keep the larder stocked."

"Over a year's worth of memories. Chi-Chi… is in Otherworld."

"Huh?"

"Do you remember her illness?"

"Oh, the bleeding thing? Yes, the doctor told us yesterday."

"It was not yesterday, Kakarot. The illness worsened, and she died of it about a year ago. You were the only one who knew exactly when. The rest of us did not learn until some months after it happened."

"Oh. Well. Huh. She should be happy then, if she's in Otherworld," Goku said, grinning. "She didn't really like looking after a Saiyan brood, you know. I don't think she'd have tricked me into marrying her if she'd known how much trouble I was gonna be. What else happened that I don't remember?"

Raditz blinked. "Your human mate died, and that's all you say?"

Goku shrugged, then yelped. "Oh, shouldn't do that again for awhile! Well, I'm gonna miss her, she cooks real well! Cooked, I guess I mean. And I guess I'll have to find another wife, because you shouldn't have sex with someone you aren't married to. Even though Bulma and Vegeta did, and I don't see how come I have to be married to have sex when they weren't, but Chi said it wasn't right, what they did, and so I have to have a wife."

"Huh?"

"What?"

Raditz drew in a deep breath. "Kakarot, you are the most un-Saiyan Saiyan I have ever met. Do you feel no loss?"

Goku blinked at him, then broke into a dazzling smile. "Oh! I get it! I told you, I'll miss her. But she's in Otherworld, and it's nice there. King Yemma probably sent her on into heaven, as a reward for putting up with me for as long as she did, you know, so there's no reason to feel like she's lost."

Raditz stared. After a moment, he shook his head. "If it were not for your tail, I would swear that you are not Saiyan at all."

"Tail?" Goku grabbed for his backside, and yelped in pain again. "I got my tail back?"

"It was the only one of the wishes I had that the Dragon was able to grant."

"You wished my tail back?"

"Vegeta wished his own back. Since there were no other surviving Saiyans to wish to Earth, I wished for the return of the tails of all those with Saiyan blood. The permanent return - you will not be able to lose your tail and have it stay lost. It regenerated four days after Vegeta ripped it from you."

"Why'd he rip off my tail?"

"You killed his daughter," Raditz replied bluntly.

"I killed Bra?" Goku repeated, open-mouthed.

"No, his infant daughter. She had not yet been given a name."

"Vegeta had another baby? And I… I killed a baby?" Goku sounded like he was going to be sick. "Why would I? You're lying!"

"I am not lying, little brother. Be still, and listen to me." Raditz took a deep breath, and then told his brother what had happened, as best he could, over the last year.

Goku laid back down when he finished, and stared fixedly at the ceiling. After a time, he said. "I don't get it."

"I don't either." Raditz stood, striding angrily around the small room. "Our brother-bond was weak, but it was _there_! When I bit you, as a mate would, and you returned my bite, it simply… disappeared, and I was unable to feel you as a mate should, either. Nor could Vegeta, yet it seemed you were able to tell how we felt. You… often responded more to what I felt than to what I actually said. I believe that is why you killed the baby."

"Because you wanted her dead?"

"Because Vegeta did," Raditz corrected. "He said as much."

"He did?"

"He called her weak, then said he would end her 'pathetic existence' if there were another Saiyan female alive. It was no more than a few seconds later that you snapped her neck."

Goku puked over the side of the bed. Raditz took care of him after, then sighed. "It seems whatever hold the bond held over you is gone, now. Erased completely out of existence."

"Um, so… I had… gave birth to Vegeta's kid. That means… I had… sex with Vegeta?"

"You don't remember that, either?"

"No."

"Oh."

At a loss, the two simply stared at each other.


	22. Termination

The pains began only a few hours after he had left his brother. Raditz' weary trudge became a quick sprint for the nearest bathroom. It came as no real surprise to him that nothing but miserable retching ensued: it wasn't as if he had eaten. He leaned his head against the cold porcelain, and concluded that it had probably been a number of days since he had had a meal. The night before disaster struck, if he remembered right.

He pushed himself up after several minutes and the urge to cling to the toilet had passed. He rinsed the taste from his mouth, splashing his face to cool the heated flush and to wash the reaction tears away. He met his own eyes in the mirror, and gasped. "Week old corpses look better than I do. I better get some food."

The kitchens were nearby, and he had only one moment of dizzying weakness on the way there. Unfortunately, that happened half-way down a staircase, part-way through a step. He missed, and toppled the rest of the way down the stairs. He landed in an awkward sprawl, with his tail painfully trapped. Raditz whimpered, shifting himself cautiously so as to not further pinch the sensitive nerves, and finally regained his feet.

Only to sit immediately, one hand clapped over his mouth and the other rubbing frantic circles on his belly, trying to ease the pain and nausea. He had never had such vicious hunger cramps, not even when Frieza had deliberately starved the Saiyans to make sure they would be even more savage during a purge. He finally forced himself to his feet and continued to the kitchen, and shoved the first edible thing he found into his mouth.

After several minutes, the nauseating feeling eased, though the pain did not. Raditz settled himself at the table, taking the time to actually chew instead of bolting the food available. He knew better than to expect the pain to vanish immediately. Usually, it took a half-day, but as painful as these cramps still seemed, he figured it would take a day or two for them to ease completely. He lifted a chicken leg, then tossed it down with startled dismay.

"How the hell can I be full already?" he demanded of the nearest service bot. And then shook his head, wondering why he'd bothered to ask. It wasn't like the bot could answer him. He regarded the rest of the food he'd assembled, and was struck by a different sort of nausea. He promptly blamed that on being pregnant, and fled the kitchen.

His senses seemed overly sharp suddenly. Scents that normally went unnoticed for their sheer commonness bombarded him, and the play of shadows from the light coming through the windows began to make him wince away. He switched direction once more, this time heading for the room Bulma had assigned him. Gaining that sanctuary, he hastily pulled the heavy curtains shut before rubbing fitfully at his eyes.

_Stop projecting, dammit! You're making me sick!_

He hadn't realized he was. Raditz throttled his end of the mating-bond to Vegeta; it wouldn't do to have the prince even more angry with him. He rubbed absently at his belly as he rearranged the mess of tangled blankets that covered his bed. The pain ebbed slightly, to his relief. He crawled onto the bed, and spent the next several minutes fighting his covers.

They landed on the floor next to the bed when he got fed up. The pillows, and then he, followed. It was over an hour by the time he got an arrangement he felt comfortable with, and he curled into it with a tired sigh. He continued to rub at his belly, addressing the child inside.

"Hell of a mess, kid. I still can't feel him. Just, he can't feel me anymore either. I don't understand. What the hell could have happened? We're brothers, dammit, not just mates! I should be able to feel him on several different bonds. It's just… they were all so weak. What if… what if it was me? What if I caused his bonds to fail? That… the way they were working… maybe I did it? Because our bonds were too weak?

"No, that doesn't make sense, does it, baby? I should pick out a name for you sometime soon. I don't even know if Kakarot had a name for his daughter. He couldn't tell us. I don't think Vegeta had chosen anything. He wasn't… he wasn't real happy about her. Too weak, you know? You should be a strong little shit when you're born, as much as you've been through already. How many times have we needed a senzu?

"Yeah, too many. Way too many." He rolled onto his side, and was relieved to find the new position helped alleviate the cramping his stomach was still insisting on. "And we're homeless, you know. Vegeta destroyed the house, and there's no way Bulma will let me stay here. Kakarot, maybe, but not me. Gods, the looks she gives me whenever I have the misfortune to see her!"

Bulma was well on her way to being able to kill with a look. Even Frieza would have backed down had he been on the receiving end of some of the death glares he'd gotten. Raditz sighed, and went back to pondering over the mysteries of his now non-existent bonds with his brother.

Their family bond had always been very, very weak. Even before he'd died, Raditz had had to use his scouter in order to know which direction to go to find his brother. After his return, it hadn't grown much stronger, but their brother bond had improved with continual access to each other. Even so, it had still been weak. He'd more often found his brother by finding his ki than sensing him.

Okay, so Kakarot hadn't been raised as a Saiyan, or near Saiyans. That shouldn't mean anything. After all, lots of kids were sent on purges. Not all of them were able to return immediately, and not all the ones that had their pods destroyed were picked up in a particularly timely manner. Those kids hadn't had any problems reintegrating into Saiyan society. Hell, look at their father - he'd been stuck off-world his first ten years! He'd mated twice and was a brilliant scientist. Raditz wasn't as smart as his father, and Kakarot….

Kakarot had brain damage. Raditz groaned, shifting to ease a fresh set of irritating stomach cramps, and considered that. His brother had been damaged, a portion of his memories destroyed, his innate Saiyan aggressiveness somehow channeled into a clueless grin that made Raditz want to strangle him. Oh, the eagerness to fight was there, the need to be the strongest, but the aggression had been… removed. Had his ability to bond been removed as well? No, because they _had_ had a bond, however weak it had been.

He sat bolt upright, yelped, and flopped back down, rubbing his belly. It couldn't possibly be so simple, could it? He and Vegeta hadn't made their bonds to Kakarot right. Oh, they'd exchanged blood, but they had been intent on making him their mate. Except, there hadn't been any mating involved, at all, the entire time the flawed bonds had been in effect. It couldn't possibly be so simple.

scene change here

"Hey, little brother."

"Hi, Raditz! Bulma says I'm almost all better." Goku swept his arm to take in the room. "She says I can go home pretty soon!"

"Oh. Well, about that…." Raditz trailed off uncomfortably, his tail unwinding to rub against his belly along with his hands. "Uh, Vegeta kinda blew the house up."

"Oh. Well, then I guess I'll go stay at Grandpa's. It'll just need a little fixing up, and then I can stay there."

"Ah." Raditz paused a moment. "Am I welcome?"

"Huh?"

"Bulma does not care for having me here. Will I be welcome at your home, little brother?"

"If Chi-Chi don't mind, I guess you could stay."

"Ka - Goku, Chi-Chi is no longer living. I told you this yesterday, don't you remember?"

Goku's eyes widened. "She's dead? How'd she die? Was it the accident that hurt me?"

"She had a disease that caused her to bleed to death. Ka - Goku, we talked about this yesterday."

"I don't remember. Um… who are you?"

Raditz stared at him. Another stab of pain caused a hitch in his breath, and his hands to clutch his abused belly. "I'm your older brother, Raditz. Don't… you don't remember me?"

"Not at all!" Goku replied cheerfully. "Must have been the accident. Bulma says I forgot a lot of stuff. She said it's probably for the best, cause a lot of it was really bad stuff. It's funny, though, I can remember being little and going out with Grandpa, but I don't remember you."

"I lived with our father until I came of age. I am quite a bit older than you."

"Oh, okay. Where's he?"

"He is dead. He died when you were only a child. I was… unable to raise you." Raditz sank into the chair next to the bed, hunching over. His attempt to hide his distress failed.

"Hey, are you okay? Bulma can help you! She's real good with things like that!"

"No, no. She blames me for what happened to you."

"I got beat up by a jerk. Was it you?"

"Vegeta."

"The guy who blew my house up?"

"Yes." His stomach hurt worse than ever. Maybe eating again even though he hadn't felt hungry had been a bad idea. Nausea rose again, and he tried to fight it back.

_I told you to stop projecting!_

Raditz sent back a burst of apology, and clamped down on the link once more. His teeth ground together as he fought his body.

"Goku, what is it you need?"

"It's him. I think he's sick!"

Raditz chose that moment to relieve himself of the meager amount of food he'd been able to force down. In spite of that, he denied his illness. "I am not sick."

"Then why did you just hurl all over my floor?" Bulma demanded. She punched several buttons, and small robots scurried to clean up the mess.

Raditz looked up to see Goku's anxious expression and the more familiar sneer of disgust on Bulma's. "Must've eaten something that disagreed with me. I'm fine. Look, Ka - Goku, I'll come by later and see how you're doing. I think I'll go out and do a little training."

Bulma snorted as Goku nodded. Raditz brushed past her and headed for the outer door. He left his tail curled around his belly, but kept his hands away until he made it out of her sight. He let himself hunch over as he made his way outside, taking to the sky immediately. Once safely hidden in the woods, he let his façade drop, and puked again. Several times. Each time, he struggled to control the bond, so that Vegeta would not be affected by his lack of bodily control. Since the prince didn't yell at him again, he thought he had succeeded.

The nausea left his middle feeling wrenched, a feeling compounded by the cramps that continued to assault him. Maybe he really had eaten something bad. He lay beneath the tree he'd stumbled to after the last bout, and kept his concentration on keeping his bond with Vegeta closed as the pain worsened.

It was too late when he finally realized what was happening wasn't due to stomach cramps at all. Raditz screamed, too far from anyone who could possibly help him, his bond with the one who could have rescued him in ruins. Screamed as his body rejected the child it carried, forcibly ejecting him far too early. Raditz crumpled next to his son, curling protectively around the tiny, still cub.

Hours later, he returned to Capsule Corporation. He shed the remains of his bloodied clothes, and collapsed into the bed. He lay, sightlessly staring at the ceiling, until the sun was well into the sky.


	23. Starting Over

"Well, this is it!" Goku called cheerfully. "This is the house Grandpa raised me in. Ohhh, it needs a little more work than I thought. The roof fell in. That's okay. We shouldn't have any trouble getting a new one on. It's pretty easy, I've had to put one on before."

"What do we need?" Raditz didn't bother to move from his side of the aircar.

"Oh, well, a tree, really is all. I think." Goku frowned again. "It's… kinda fuzzy. I thought I knew how, but it's like…" The younger Saiyan's voice faded, and he frowned. "I don't know. I… Hey! This is Grandpa's place! Wow… I wonder what we'll have to do to fix the roof."

Raditz stared at his brother. Whatever was wrong with the kid, it was getting worse. This memory had gone even faster than the one before it. "I imagine Bulma would help you."

"Oh, sure! I should have thought of that. Bulma will know just what to do!" Goku pulled the phone the scientist had given him from his pocket. "Hey! Hi! No, we made it just fine. Do you know how to fix a roof? Grandpa's fell in, and I don't…. Really? We can do that! Cool! Thanks, Bulma!"

He put the phone away. "She'll be here with some repair bots in about an hour or so. She said we ought to clean out as much of the old roof before she gets here as we can."

"Fine. Let's get it done." Raditz stumbled getting out of the car, and cursed quietly to himself. The too-early birth had taken much of his strength, and he hadn't yet recovered. Even so, he thought he ought to be up to the task of helping clear out the detritus from the fallen roof.

He proved himself correct, clearing out three times as much as his younger brother. Goku had stopped several times, simply watching him work. "What is it, Goku?"

"Are you my boyfriend?"

"Your brother. We were raised apart."

"Oh! Why?"

"Because when our Father died, I wasn't in a position to care for you."

"Oh, okay."

Raditz sighed. That conversation had been repeated several times in the car. Maybe next time his brother asked the same old question, he'd just say yes. He couldn't see why it would make a difference, but it was worth a shot. "Bulma should be here soon."

"Yeah, it's been almost an hour. Ohhh, look! I remember this! Grandpa made it for me!" Goku held up a battered, chewed-up unidentifiable something. Raditz blinked.

"What is it?"

"Teething ring! I was…" Again, Goku's voice died off, and he frowned. "So, we better get cleaned up. Your hair's a mess! Do you want me to comb it out for you?"

"Sure."

"Um, okay. I'll… go find a brush, I guess."

"I'm Raditz."

"Raditz. I'm Goku."

"I know that."

"Oh. Um…."

Raditz sighed. "We were lovers before your accident."

"You're my boyfriend?" Goku squeaked.

"Well… it was a little more complicated than that." Raditz reached out, brushing the mark he had left on his brother's neck. "We were married. Are married."

"Wow… guess there was a reason Chi-Chi hated having my friends over. Did you meet her?"

"She hated my guts," Raditz said bluntly, "because she knew you loved me."

"Did I cheat on her?"

Raditz looked up at the approaching aircar. "Yes and no. My tail is particularly sensitive, an erogenous zone. You wouldn't listen when I told you to leave it alone… and events took their course from there."

"Oh. That was pretty… stupid. But, we're together now?" Goku asked uncertainly.

"Yes. There is another, as well. We are a triad… but he is not happy with either of us at the moment."

"I married two guys?"

"Yes, but it really doesn't matter right now. You keep forgetting. Maybe when you can remember my name for more than five minutes, I'll explain it all again."

"You aren't mad at me?"

"What happened between us was not your fault. You were sick, and now the accident has taken what memories you had of us." Raditz watched the woman land, and the bustle of the robots that preceded her out of the aircar.

"Hi, Bulma!" Goku darted over to the woman, babbling excitedly. Raditz resumed his seat inside the aircar Bulma had given to Goku, and watched the robots do their thing with the roof. One hand ran tiredly over his flat stomach, feeling in vain for the small pooch he had developed.

His head turned, eyes unerringly locked in the direction of his misfortune. How was he to tell Vegeta about this development? Could he tell the prince? Would he be permitted to attempt to have another cub for the volatile man? Raditz sighed, burying his face in his hands. The proper question was really did he want to try to bear any more cubs for the prince?

"But what choice do I have? He is the alpha," he whispered. Cautiously, he opened his end of the link for the first time in days. _Vegeta? Is… now bad?_

What do you want?

I… no longer bear.

WHAT?

Raditz shuddered at the force of the angry voice in his mind. _I no longer bear. My body rejected the child._

Why?

Raditz swallowed hard. _I don't know. I can guess, but I don't know._

Guess.

I should not have tried to protect my brother. The damage was too great.

You have no brother. I saw to that.

Kakarot survived.

No, Goku _survived. Kakarot is dead._

_Oh. _Raditz grabbed his hair and pulled, hard. _I understand. I… understand. I am with him, Goku, at the house where he grew up. Shall I return to you?_

I don't want to see or hear from you again until this brat is out of my belly, if then.

Raditz hastily shut down his side of the link, tightening it the way he had learned over the past several days. The last message had been overlaid by such bitterness and hatred that he doubted the boy would survive past its birth. The sons of Bardock had failed to satisfactorily serve him, and Raditz knew that nothing would stop Vegeta from punishing them for it. His soft keen was nearly sub vocal, but Goku stopped mid-babble to look over at him.

His brother, no longer. Kakarot was well and truly dead, now. Vegeta was using his alpha bond with the younger Saiyan to systematically make him forget every memory he had that made him anything but the Earthling he had claimed to be. How that would affect his brother's strength and abilities, Raditz wasn't entirely certain. He had met the humans that knew how to fly and use their energies as weapons, and his brother's old teacher.

__

Ah, Kakarot… it seems you will never know me as your brother, and if I am to stay, it will not, cannot be as your brother or your Saiyan mate… but in a new life as your human husband. It is his_ will that you forget, and I might be able to resist him, but I will not do that to you. Or to me. So, for your sake, I will allow you to believe me human, and a mere husband, not your mated brother._

His decision made, Raditz walked over to see if his decision had made a difference. If he had even the slightest bit of influence left on his mating bond, then perhaps Goku would recognize him now. Raditz nodded. There was one other possible change that might help. "Hello, Goku."

"Hi, uh…"

"Ditzu." Bulma shot him a sharp look. "Your husband?"

"Oh!" A sudden light sprang in his brother's eyes. "Ditzu! You know Bulma, right? She's one of my best friends."

"We have met."

"Ditzu?"

Raditz nodded shortly. "Goku, why don't you go see what the roof looks like from inside?"

"Huh? Oh, okay!"

He watched his brother leave. "Vegeta is using the mating bond against him. He has already forgotten who Vegeta is, and most of the little he knew of his Saiyan heritage. He does not remember me as his brother or his mate, cannot remember even when he is reminded at excessively frequent intervals. Ditzu is the nickname my father gave me when I was young, but my brother did not know that as Kakarot or Goku. I am hoping that lack of knowledge will help him remember me as his very human husband, Ditzu."

"You aren't his husband."

"But I am." He faced down her angry scowl, tail wrapping tightly around his waist. "I am, Bulma, and it is my duty to see to it that he recovers as best as he can with our alpha in the shape he's in."

"The shape he's in?"

Raditz wetted his lips, then reluctantly told her his conclusion. "I think Vegeta is reacting badly to being pregnant. He was doing well, at first, but at this stage, most breeders begin having difficulties. Kakarot failed to take care of himself, as well as ceasing to speak. Vegeta… reacted in a much more Saiyan way."

"Ah." The scowl had faded as he explained, and now she had what he had privately dubbed her 'scientist-face' on. "What about you?"

"Me? I lost what little sense I had to protective issues. I stepped in front of Vegeta when he was in a rage to try and keep him off of Kakarot. The reaction of an alpha protecting a mate, and Kakarot is my beta." His hands stroked absently over his belly, and he crossed his arms as soon as he realized it. "I no longer bear as a result."

"You lost the baby?"

"My body rejected the child the last day I saw you."

"I'm sorry, Raditz."

"Ditzu. You'll have to remember. Goku doesn't know anyone named Raditz." He ignored the empty platitude.

"Ditzu! Come see! It's pink!"

"Pink?" Raditz shot Bulma a scathing glare, and hurried to examine the roof. Bulma followed him, and laughed.

"The pink is an insulation, to help keep the temperature regulated," she explained when Raditz turned, growling. "Another layer will go just under it, and then the bots will repair the ceilings, as well. I forgot how small this place was," she added absently, looking around the room.

Raditz finally took in his surroundings are more than "area to clean out." It was small, only a single room that obviously comprised bed, dining, and visiting areas. "Goku, where's the bathroom?"

"There's an outhouse out back, and a waterfall by the creek."

"Oh." _Not the worst accommodations I've had, and it obviously doesn't bother him. Funny how the woman is having such a fit about it. A zenni says she reprograms the bots to add on a few amenities. I think… I won't object, if she does. I hate taking a waterfall shower and then finding minnows in my hair._

"But Bulma, this is Grandpa's place! You just can't go adding on anything you want!"

"Be reasonable, Goku. You need a proper kitchen. Think about how much you like to eat. Where are you going to store your supplies?" Goku's mouth shut with a snap, his head spinning to examine the corner that comprised the kitchen. Bulma smiled triumphantly. "So, I'll just have the bots expand the house a bit to include a more modern kitchen and bathroom. And maybe a bedroom? You wouldn't want your husband trying to sleep where you're having friends over for drinks, or vice versa, would you?"

"Oh." Goku blinked a few times.

"You're all grown up now, Goku, and you need more space than you did when it was just you and your Grandpa. I mean, what if you and Ditzu decide to have children?"

"Boys can't have babies."

"But they can adopt. Where will the children sleep?"

Raditz had to admire the way she wove her arguments, especially when she asked about where visiting grandchildren and their parents would sleep. By the time she was done, Raditz was hiding a grin. The little cottage wouldn't be remotely resembling its former humbleness when her bots were through with it.

"I don't suppose you'd throw in a small greenhouse and garden shed?" he asked as she wound down. "Both would come in handy, since I believe we intend to live off the land as much as possible."

She agreed. The bots worked around Goku, who had settled onto a disreputable excuse for an aged couch, staring as his childhood home was transformed. Raditz considered the couch, then made himself comfortable on the floor, leaning up against Goku's legs. _Now, why is it I have to start life all over again?_


	24. The New Beginning

**He had felt the birth of his son. How could he not? Vegeta's ki had skyrocketed to levels that threatened to split the planet. Even Goku had noticed, though he hadn't understood what was going on. He'd had a hell of a headache after, too, from Vegeta's mental rant, for hours afterward. The prince hadn't contacted him since, but if he concentrated, he could still feel his son. He knew better than to go to the prince without orders, so lived with his brother. The hunting and fishing in the area was good, certainly enough to feed two Saiyans. The small garden he put in helped, too, though he was not overly fond of meals consisting only of vegetables.**

**It was, however, a painful existence. Goku was truly little more than a child. Vegeta had done his work well. Goku remembered nothing past Raditz' original arrival on E'arth. He hadn't been very old then, and very sheltered. Raditz never knew from one day to the next - from one minute to the next - what his brother would or would not be able to remember of what he had once known. Even the simple, basic skills sometimes slipped from his brother's mind, basic skills he had learned before Raditz had come, before he'd known he was a Saiyan. Others that he had learned after Vegeta's arrival also vanished, and those, Raditz had learned, he could not reteach the younger man. Those skills were forever lost.**

**He always had to be reintroduced to Goten, to Trunks. He never understood how Gohan could be so old, and married, or remembered who Pan was. Their visits were always strained, and soon grew infrequent. Even Bulma curtailed her visits after Goku greeted her as Bunny. Raditz had learned to hide himself, at last, so that his brother no longer forgot who he was because he did something inhuman. He hid his strength, allowing himself to do only those things that Yamcha and Krillin - more infrequent visitors - were capable of doing. He learned to be human, to be Ditzu.**

**Raditz did the best he could. He did the cooking when his brother couldn't remember how, and sat watching him wide-eyed as he fixed meals that Goku had once made when half-asleep. He corrected his brother's katas with a patience that was edged with despair, knowing that once, before he'd come, Goku had done them flawlessly and with a smile of joy. Now, the young Saiyan stumbled and frowned, concentrating too hard and moving too stiffly through movements that had been done with graceful, careless ease. There were days Ditzu had to show him how to button his shirt, and tie the drawstring of his pants.**

**Raditz didn't bother to keep track of the time. When Vegeta wanted him, Vegeta would call. Until then, well….**

"**Ditzu! Ditzu! I caught a fish!" Goku held up his catch proudly.**

**Raditz blinked at the fish. The thing wasn't more than a foot long, and thin besides. "Good job, Goku," he praised quietly. "Why don't you get it ready for the grill?"**

"**Okay!" Goku took a few steps, then paused, looking at him sheepishly. "Um, Ditzu?"**

"**It's okay, Goku. Just stick it in the fridge. I'll fix it later."**

"**Okay!"**

_**Oh, Vegeta… why?**_** he mourned, attacking another weed in the garden.**

_***Why what?***_

**Raditz very nearly got his toe with the hoe. He'd slipped? Vegeta had heard him? **_**I am sorry, my prince. I did not mean to intrude.**_

_***Why what?***_

**The question was the mental equivalent of a slap. Raditz jerked, certain he had been physically assaulted, and raised one hand to his face. And what could he say? Carefully, he set the hoe aside and sat cross-legged on the ground. A quick shake of his head spilled his hair into a curtain to create the illusion of privacy. **_***Why… did you take… erase… what he knew before I came? He can't even fix a fish for supper!***_

_***So?***_

**Raditz gasped, grasping his stomach. It took a moment for the pain to ease. **_***He is… still… my brother. My… no! Our mate. I am a Saiyan, Prince Vegeta. I am his al--* **_**He was unable to finish the thought, Vegeta's mental attack leaving him no doubts that should he bring the topic up again, there would be one less Saiyan alive. Who would take care of his brother if he died? His friends? He couldn't remember the last time any of them had called, much less come by. **_***Then, am I to come to you?***_

**He waited, curled on his side, for an answer. If he was, he would go, he knew. Vegeta was his prince, as well as his alpha. He would take the time to call Bulma, before he left, but he would go. The answer he got burned away a part of his mind. Raditz screamed, twisting in agony, as Vegeta shredded their bond.**

**Antiseptic smell. Sterile white. Med bay? Raditz sat up, mindful of his aching head. No… this was a laboratory. He frowned as a white-coated old man entered. "Ah, your awake, my boy! Excellent. How are you feeling?"**

"**Head hurts, and I'm hungry."**

"**Hm, hm. Ah, here we go!" The old man held out a pill. "This ought to help your head. And the kitchen is out the door and down the hall to your right."**

**He took the pill and followed the old man's directions. Halfway there, he realized he was at Capsule Corp., and that the old man had to have been Bulma's eccentric father. He followed the smell of roasted meat when the hall intersected, and soon found himself in a cheerful kitchen.**

"**Ditzu! You's awake!" A moment later, his brother had barreled into him, nearly knocking him over in his enthusiasm. "I was so worried! Are you okay? Do you want something to eat? Bunny made cookies and the meat stuff is almost done!"**

_**Oh. I remember now.**_** His head hurt for a reason. A quick glance at the calendar - marked off with big x's, wasn't that nice? - and then the clock let him know he'd only been unconscious a few hours. "I'm fine, and food sounds good."**

"**I get you some cookies! Do you want milk?" Goku bounced to the table, grabbing a plate and piling it with cookies before glancing over his shoulder. "Ditzu? Milk?" "Yes." He took a seat, watching his brother bustle around the kitchen under Bunny's supervision. He ate absently when the younger Saiyan set the plate triumphantly in front of him. Something was off, and he tried to figure out what it was. **_**My name is Raditz. Kakarot is my younger brother. Our father was Bardock. We have different mothers. I am called Ditzu because I must be, and Kakarot is called Goku because he was raised as an Earthling and not a Saiyan. Our prince is Vegeta, and he… hates us.**_

_**He ran through a few more thoughts, picturing those things his brother had forgotten and confirming that Vegeta had apparently left him with his memories, and skills, intact. Something else occurred to him.**_

"_**Goku, how did we come here?"**_

"_**Well, you wouldn't waked up, an' I was worried." Huge eyes met his, sincere and shadowing with worry once more. "And then we was here, and Bun… no…." Goku frowned, his nose wrinkling up in concentration. "Bulma! Bulma took you to that room, and they pulled out a needle. I don't like needles! An' she threatened to poke me if I didn't go away and let her take care of you!" Those wide eyes dropped to stared at scruffy shoes. "I ranned."**_

"_**Ran, Goku," Bunny corrected cheerfully.**_

"_**Ran," Goku mumbled. "Ran. I ran… and Bunny maked cookies!"**_

_**Raditz' stomach twisted and threatened to toss his cookies right back out on the plate. His mind was still perfectly intact, aside from all the ruined bonds. His brother's mind, though… Vegeta had destroyed it.**_


	25. Regression

Goku knew something was wrong with him. He wasn't really sure what it was, but he knew there was something wrong. There had to be. All the grown-ups were looking at him funny, and giving him not-there smiles when they realized he had seen them. He looked down at himself. He was clean, and his clothes were on right. Ditzu had made sure he'd gotten all his buttons done right.

He still had that funny feeling in his head, like it was empty. Bun… no. Bur? Bam? The meanie with blue hair and needles had laughed and told him he was always empty-headed. Goku hadn't thought it was very funny, but he hadn't told Ditzu. If Ditzu laughed at him too…..

Goku brushed tears furiously off his cheeks. He wasn't gonna cry just 'cause some mean old woman told him he didn't have a brain! He did so have a brain! It was leaking out his ears, but he still had one. His hands pushed over his ears as he hunkered down, whimpering as quietly as he could when his brain started leaking again. He knew it was leaking; the voice told him so. And the voice was in his head, where it could see what was going on, so it knew his brains were leaking out.

He pushed harder, trying to keep what brains he had left in his head where brains were supposed to be. When his hands fell away from his ears, Son Goku was no more.

Kakarot raged helplessly from his prison. _He_ still existed. _He_ still remembered. And he wanted out! Out to live his life, out to get his revenge, out to get _laid_! Raditz hadn't screwed his body once since Vegeta's meddling had turned his outer mind to mush. He beat against the wall that surrounded and caged him, howling his anger and misery for no one except himself to hear.

Kakarot was insane. Quite insane, having been trapped inside Goku for so long. Alive, but as good as dead. Knowing, and unable to show it. Feeling, but unable to react. Bonded, yet unbound. Horny, unable to sate himself. He screamed his frustrations, beating the wall that kept him from showing that little runt just who really was the true alpha in their mating.

Snarling, frothing, he beat and beat on the walls until all he could do was feebly scratch the unmoving, impenetrable barrier. Weak sobs shook his body as he leaned against the wall; tears of frustration pooling in his eyes before escaping to run down his cheeks. Goku had no mind, now; no will to keep him imprisoned. Why couldn't he break free? _Why?_

Raditz found Goku curled in a little ball. His brother's thumb was stuck in his mouth, and he'd fouled his pants. "Hey, Goku? Come on, Goku. You're gonna need a bath. Goku?" Raditz crouched when his brother didn't answer him, and shook the man lightly.

Wide black eyes flew open. To Raditz' utter horror, his younger brother began wailing. "Goku! Goku! What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did you fall?" No answer.

Raditz gathered his brother in a hug, nose wrinkling at the scent. "Come on, I'll help you get cleaned up." He tried to get the younger Saiyan to stand, but Goku wouldn't stand for him. Finally, he just scooped his brother up and headed for the nearest of CC's many bathrooms Once there, it didn't take him long to realize that what little reasoning and memories his brother had had were gone. His brother had, to all intents and purposes, been reduced to infancy.

Vegeta had done it. He was the only one who could have done it. Oh, he'd destroyed their mating bond, but he had _kept_ the one he'd had with Kakarot. And he'd systematically destroyed his brother's mind, taking his memories and his abilities until now there was nothing but the mindless body left.

Raditz washed him, grateful that the water Kakarot splashed hid the tears that insisted on leaking from his eyes. He drained the tub and dried his brother before wrapping him in the bathrobe hanging on the door. Then he carried him back to the rooms Bulma had given them. Very gently, he laid Kakarot out on their shared bed, and slumped disconsolately beside him.

"What am I to do?" he murmured helplessly. "Do I hope that having removed everything, that he will allow you to grow and learn, and raise you as I would have our son? Or do I conclude that there is no hope that you will ever recover, and grant you mercy?"

Kakarot greeted the question with renewed rage. He hadn't been able to live, and this insignificant prick was going to kill him? The rage abandoned him as quickly as it had risen. Kakarot was tired… and if he were dead…. Memories assaulted him, and he howled. Death might be mercy for Goku, but it was no mercy to him! He would still be trapped, caught inside this prison, while Goku lived eternally in Other World, just as has happened the last couple times he'd died.

Vegeta had already _killed_ Goku! There was nothing left of him but others' memories! Kakarot screamed, smashing joined fists against the wall, "I want to _live!"_

_Raditz twisted, staring. Black eyes stared up at him, blinking in shock. "Go.. Goku?"_

_Kakarot stared at him. Felt the novelty of licking his own lips. Lips that twisted up into a snarling grin as he reached out and grabbed Raditz' hair to drag him in. First things first… he was getting laid._

_*happy stars* *happy stars*_

_Eh, asterisks don't work on some sites. Deal with the happy stars. I realized, when I was reading through this, that Raditz answered his own question about what was wrong with their bond back around chapter 18._


	26. Renewed Bonds

He could feel. He could touch. He could… do whatever he wanted. And he wanted to get laid. Kakarot pulled his brother into a crushing kiss, devouring his mouth the way Goku never would. He relished the taste, the texture, as he hadn't been able to during his confinement. He kept one hand clenched in Raditz' hair, refusing to let his brother far enough away to do more than gasp for a breath or two before pulling him back.

His other hand and his tail roved eagerly beneath his brother's loose shirt and over the tight, tightening pants. Tails twined. Kakarot growled hungrily, happily using his strength to roll his elder beneath him to make the plunder easier. Tail and hand made short work of the pants' fastenings, and he delved inside, still feasting on his brother's mouth.

Raditz jerked beneath him, arching wantonly against him. His brother was made for submission, aggressive as he was. Kakarot drew back, purring, to map his brother's jaw and neck with lips and tongue. Raditz shuddered, turning his head to bare the mark Goku had given him. Kakarot ignored the tactic offer, instead releasing his grip on Raditz' hair to explore his chest and stomach.

He licked and sucked along Raditz' collarbone, then followed his hand's trail south. He paused to taste pebbled nipples, lavishing each with tongue and teeth before continuing his exploration. Kakarot shifted, crouching over his brother, and shoved the irritating pants down to the other's knees. Raditz apparently got a clue then, and proceeded to kick them the rest of the way off when Kakarot left them there and used his hands to stroke cock and balls; his tail busy ruffling his brother's when it wasn't curling teasingly to stroke from balls to anus.

Raditz was too overwhelmed by his brother's sudden aggressiveness, and then the pleasurable assault, to do anything but reciprocate. He threaded his fingers through his brother's damp spikes, gasping in pleasure when Kakarot engulfed him. He purred, hips thrusting eagerly into the hot, sucking mouth. He purred, writhing as the sensual assault continued.

One small part of him remembered that his brother hadn't been well. That he hadn't been able to talk, or walk, or do anything. He was purring so hard with pleasure that his voice stuttered when he tried to talk. "G.. Go… Gok…."

That was as far as he got before his brother pushed roughly into him, and he screamed instead, pleasure and pain equally mixed. There was no hesitation at all in his mate's actions: the younger immediately setting a hard, rapid pace. Raditz rocked into the savage thrusts; confused and overcome by his brother's actions. Teeth tore into his neck, ripping into the skin, deepening the mating mark. Raditz howled, tossing his head back and spraying them both with his seed. Kakarot licked his neck, thrusting and holding himself deep inside Raditz, and bared his own neck.

Raditz accepted the offer to renew their destroyed bond wistfully, believing his brother's ability to bond damaged beyond repair. His teeth sank into the corded neck. Kakarot's blood washed over his senses… and Kakarot filled his mind, his soul, and his body with his climax and claim. _*Mine!*_

Kakarot sank his teeth into his brother's neck again, sated for the moment and content to relax on the stockier form. Raditz' blood was sweet and full, as lively and aggressive as his brother usually was, yet tinged with betrayal and sorrow. Kakarot knew quite well Vegeta - damned little prick was going to get his! - was the cause of both bitter flavors. He lapped over the bite until it closed, relishing being able to taste and feel properly for the first time since childhood.

He stretched leisurely, sliding sinuously over his brother's larger body; smiling when Raditz curved a hand over his hip and threw an arm around his waist. Their tails coiled together beside them, the tip of Kakarot's stroking lightly along the uncoiled portion. He purred with satisfaction as his brother responded to his attention-starved prompts and began stroking his back and sides. All in all, it was a hell of a comeback for the younger Saiyan. Not that he had any idea how he'd finally managed to breach that thrice bedamned wall, but he was well free of it - and never, ever getting locked behind it again!

"Goku?" Raditz rumbled through a purr, "are you… feeling better?"

"Kakarot," he purred back, propping himself on his elbows to look down at his brother. "I'm Kakarot, and I feel like you need to be ridden harder than last time."

Raditz caught his breath, gazing up into glittering black eyes. His cock jumped, hips twitching in response to the guttural, purred promise of more sex. Kakarot laughed, leaning towards him, and he turned his head aside instinctively, baring the mark once again. Kakarot licked him, tiny little lightening fast swipes with his tongue. Raditz mewled, eyes glazing.

"This is what it is to be mate-bonded to me, brother," Kakarot purred into his ear. Sharp teeth nipped the lobe, and the hungry mouth suckled the pain away. Raditz gasped and writhed; his questions being short-circuited before they reached his tongue. His fingers clutched spasmodically at his brother's hip, and his arm tightened around the younger man's waist.

"Shall I fuck you?" The husky purr breathed into his ear demanded an answer, but he couldn't form any words. "Shall I show you how it feels to be fucked with a true bond in place?"

He managed to nod, since he couldn't manage anything vocal except a throbbing purr interspersed with needy whines. He wrapped strong legs around his brother's waist, and finally managed a breathy, "Yes!"

It was heaven and hell, all rolled into one. Kakarot knew exactly where to touch him, exactly how he wanted it, when he wanted it… and just as often teased and tormented him by not going as hard or fast or deep as he begged for. And he did beg, with breathy, needy whines and clutching hands; an encouraging tail and tossing head; and desperate, vivid imaginings.

"Such a dirty, dirty mind you have!" Kakarot chuckled, nipping at his lips. Raditz opened his mouth eagerly, welcoming the questing tongue even as his brother granted his desire. He moaned into the kiss, body shuddering through what was to be his last orgasm of the night. His brother filled him soon after, and slid to curl next to him.

Raditz learned a great deal about his brother's sexual preference over the next two days - two days when the only time they left the bed was to use the bathroom. He woke the third day to Kakarot's head on his belly and hand on his cock. He was humming absently, thumb circling over the tip of Raditz' leaking shaft. "I should give you a reward, Raditz."

"Mm?" Raditz kept his eyes closed and simply enjoyed.

"For being such a good mate."

"Hmm…." Raditz wasn't up to conversation yet.

"Our daughter's going to be very strong."

"Eh?!" Raditz' eyes popped open and he propped himself up on an elbow. "What?"

"You're pregnant." Black eyes glimmered with mirth as Kakarot looked up at him. "Get up, we need to eat."

"I… preg… are you…." Too many questions were mixing themselves up in a sleep- and sex-mazed mind. "Food?" he finally managed.

"Yeah, I'm hungry. It's been too long since I had a proper meal. Which reminds me, you need to learn to cook." Kakarot slid from the bed and gave him a dirty look. "Some of that shit you fed me while I was sick should've never made it past the nearest trash can."

Raditz crawled to the edge of the bed, trying to figure out what the hell had happened to his brother. His fingers trailed over the claim mark his brother had spent a considerable amount of time renewing; and he shivered as pleasure jolted through his body.

"Stop messing with that and come take a shower. We stink." He'd covered two basic needs - sex and propagation. Now he wanted to get clean and get fed. After that, wiping Vegeta off the face of E'arth was sounding pretty good. Of course, he could just show the little bastard exactly what it meant to be a Saiyan, then kill him. Oh, but his brother's other cub probably still needed his bearer. The boy wasn't much beyond about a year and a half old. If that, Kakarot amended. His sense of time wasn't all it could be, much like his sense of anything except Raditz. Who stunk, and needed a shower.

Raditz gained his feet and staggered for the bathroom. His ass ached, and now that he wasn't overwhelmed with pleasure, he realized that he hurt. He gave himself a once-over, wincing at the number of bites and scratches liberally marring his skin, and knowing there were more on his back and ass that he couldn't see. Warm water and the soapy washcloth his brother cleaned him with helped with some; the fact that Kakarot fucked him against the wall increased others.

It was a very sore, very sated Raditz who guided Kakarot to the kitchen. He fell on the waiting meal like he hadn't eaten in days - a truth he overlooked for the moment. Kakarot, however, did nothing of the sort. The younger Saiyan started by simply breathing in, sorting and cataloguing smells Goku had taken for granted almost all of his life. He worked his way slowly through a carefully selected plate of food.

It was so different! Tasting and smelling first hand, being able to savor the flavors mixed in a plate consisting of butter-coated, syrup covered pancakes; bacon; eggs fixed in bacon grease; one biscuit topped with butter and honey; and another smothered beneath a blanket of bacon gravy. The textures were so much closer, so much more real! Those delights were offset by the chopsticks being so much harder to use than his memories indicated they should be. Still, it was his first time to use the things as himself, fully in control of his own movements.

It was almost like being a child again, so much so that he upset his chair backing away from the table; frantic gaze searching for the thing that would take his freedom this time. But only his brother's confused expression, and Bunny's clueless one; met his search. He righted the chair and resumed his meal.

Eventually, hunger overcame the raw newness of everything; and he shoveled his food into his mouth with his fingers since it was easier than trying to use the sticks. Raditz gave him another odd look, one he quelled with a brief thought of hunger that reminded the other of his own plate. Finally, he'd sated his hunger for food as well, and his awareness was drawn to a spiraling maelstrom of frustration, self-loathing and despair.

His youngest son. Kakarot's head snapped around, his ki searching out that of his child's. The boy was here. He hurt, the pain so much more clear now that Kakarot was no distanced by the prison, or distracted by his own lusts. His fingers moved involuntarily as he instinctively chose the fastest route to reaching the boy. Seconds later, Raditz was left gaping at his empty chair, and he was in a darkened bedroom.

Goten was in the bed, curled in a miserable ball. The blankets were on the floor, as were the pillows and most of the sheet. The room stank of spent sex. Kakarot scented the air, frowning as he sorted out five essences besides his son's, and the metallic hints of old blood. He kicked the blankets out of his way, and settled on the edge of the bed.

The blood smell was stronger, as was the scent of sexual frustration. Sharp eyes surveyed the gouges scored into arms and thighs by sharp nails; the half-hearted, fumbling masturbation. Goten's teeth were buried in the hand trying to choke the suppressed sobs that Kakarot saw shake the trembling form.

The need, he could easily slake. Kakarot moved swiftly, upending his son and sinking into his body. His tail curled around the boy's cock. He pulled the youth upright, fastening his mouth against Goten's throat, holding him steady with an arm around his waist and the hand in his hair. He licked and sucked along the column of the boy's throat, his thrusting and coiling tail working in a steady, gentle tandem as he set about easing his son's frustration.

He purred reassuringly, using their bond to relax the youth and encourage his pleasure. He climaxed as the boy came with a startled, relieved cry before promptly bursting into tears. Kakarot eased him back to the bed, and began licking his child clean. Dried ick and blood yielded to his determined efforts as he cleansed away what the boy unwittingly told him through the bond was several hours worth of sexual torture. Traces of one Saiyan and four human males, he noted absently.

Goten had started a trembling, shaky purring by the time he'd finished the instinctive tongue-bath. Kakarot curled around his son, his own purr an assured, deep rumble of acceptance. The frustration in the bond had eased, yet Kakarot wasn't happy. The boy's self-loathing had increased, with a strange mix of shamed, joyous pleasure and fear. Kakarot set his tail to stroking up and down his son's body as he tucked the boy more firmly under his chin. By the time his purring lulled the boy to sleep, the bond was projecting more peace than Kakarot had ever felt from his youngest son.

Raditz', on the other hand, indicated worry and confusion, along with a growing anger. _*Relax, Raditz. My son needed me.*_

_*Goku?*_

_*Kakarot.*_ He felt the startlement that preceded the surge of elation.

_*You've healed?*_

Kakarot chuckled darkly. Healed? It would take lifetimes to heal the torture he'd been through. He was released, released to do as he pleased, when he pleased, as he pleased. Goten shifted closer. He cradled the boy, and amended the thought to as his instincts demanded. He was wholly a creature of instinct at the moment, reacting without thought to the demands of his body and the stimulus of his environment.

Now, his son needed his protection. _*No, Raditz. Gather our things. Find me. Find my son. We will find a place to live. This place is no good for us.*_

Raditz shivered involuntarily. Kakarot's mental voice was dark, rich with sensuality and violence. It compelled him in a way Vegeta's voice never had, loyal as he was to his liege. He didn't hesitate to obey; he left the table to collect the things Bulma had supplied them with, and to pilfer as many other things as he thought they'd need.

It was only as he neared his brother's ki that he finally started to think again. His steps slowed, stopped. Just who was it he was going to meet when he got to his destination? Not the happy-go-lucky man who had resurrected him and pined himself into a decline after his wife's death. Raditz was sure of that. That man had never seemed to have a care or a thought beyond the immediate. He had never seemed anything but stupidly cheerful, at least until guilt over his wife's death had locked him in its grip.

It certainly wasn't the passive creature who'd been so eager and willing to please when he and Vegeta had claimed him. The man who'd kept him senseless with passion for the last two days, who'd ordered him to get their things and come to him was too demanding and _controlled_ to be that weak thing.

So who was it? Kakarot, not Goku. Not the man who'd discarded his heritage for the planet that had adopted him. Not the man who'd lost all his memories of being Saiyan. No. This man had called himself _Kakarot_, yet said he wasn't healed. _Kakarot, who filled his mind and his soul with the force of his presence, in a way Raditz had never felt a bond before._

_His bond with his father had been fairly strong, the one with his mother weaker. His first mating bond had been short-lived; the woman dying on her first purging mission. His second had been longer, but weak. That mate had fallen in the destruction of their world. He had never had a child, and the sibling bond to his brother had never been strong. His bonds to Nappa and Vegeta, as the last Saiyans and as a team, had been strong, but not to this degree. They'd all held something of themselves back, all of them having experienced what a broken bond was like._

_Raditz shivered, his memory dredging up the agonizing pain of having his mating bond with Vegeta destroyed. That part of him still felt burnt and raw. Vegeta had filled him, but not like this. He'd held something of himself in reserve, not giving all of himself to their bond. Raditz, loyal and adoring, had given Vegeta all of himself, only to be spurned, rejected because he cared for his younger brother, their younger mate. His loyalty and willingness to leave the younger man for his alpha had been so much trash to the eldest of them._

_Raditz watched the hand that reached for the doorknob. Watched as he turned it, and pushed the door open. The scent of sex poured from the room, both old and new. A welcoming musk met his nose as well. His feet carried him past the threshold, into the room that contained his brother and nephew. "Kakarot?"_

_Kakarot's comforting purr ceased. "Raditz, come join us. The cub needs comforting."_

_Raditz shut the door behind him. After a glance at the two naked Saiyans in the bed, he shed his own clothes before crawling up to join them. "What's happened?" he asked quietly._

_A sniffle preceded the boy burrowing against his chest. "Trunks. He… didn't really… not after… and then… too late," came disjointedly from the shivering body. Raditz looked at his mate questioningly, unable to translate the ragged explanation._

"_Trunks told him if he did something, he'd take him as his mate, but he didn't really mean it. The boy didn't realize that until after he'd done what he'd been asked, and by then it was too late," Kakarot growled._

_Raditz rubbed his hands along the boy's back. He was just as aware of the scents mingling in the room as his brother. He scowled. Goten's few visits had always been with Trunks, and he'd often seemed uncomfortable. "How long?"_

"_Since… since that day… when I asked… him," Goten answered between half-stifled sobs._

"_The day you asked him?"_

"_The day Goku tried to tell it wasn't his place to warn of danger," Kakarot growled angrily. His tail lashed through the air, thumping soundly against the mattress behind him. "The boy's been whored out regularly since then, with that bastard's bastard telling him that he looks like he's enjoying the others too much to be his mate, and that he has to let them fuck themselves stupid on him without taking any pleasure from it himself. Any time he came, he was proving he wasn't going to be a good mate."_

"_I was so stupid," Goten whispered. "I believed him. I really thought that if I tried hard enough… that he'd… finally make me…." His voice deteriorated again, the next few words too ragged for Raditz to understand at all._

"_He's pregnant, he doesn't know who the father is, and Trunks told him he was a whore because a good mate would have only conceived with him."_

_There wasn't anything Raditz could say to that. He thought fleetingly of what his own loyalty had cost him, and could feel nothing but sympathy for the cub._


	27. Another Beginning

They returned to Grandpa Gohan's. Raditz found himself more than grateful for the many changes Bulma had made to it. They each had their own room, not that they slept anywhere but with each other. His brother and nephew were too unstable. Kakarot, because he'd been confined so long, and Goten because of his condition. Those two were coiled around each other now, with Kakarot coaxing his pregnant, despondent cub into eating.

He was having better luck than Raditz had had with him, the older Saiyan noted sourly. But then, the parent-child bond the two had was clearly stronger than the sibling bond he'd had to work with, and infinitely stronger than the botched mating bond. Raditz still wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, or how he'd suddenly gone from Goku's alpha to Kakarot's very cowed beta. Well, no, he knew exactly why he'd become very cowed. He just wasn't real sure how he'd gone from alpha to beta so very suddenly.

Raditz spared another glance for his small family, and went back to hoeing weeds. Vegetables still weren't very high on his list of things he liked eating, but then, they never had been. E'arth vegetables weren't quite as bad as the ones he'd had on Frieza's ship, though, and could apparently be prepared in all kinds of ways. Kakarot hadn't been kidding about him learning to cook. Unfortunately, it meant he had to improve his reading and understanding of E'arth's language. He liked vegetables better than he liked trying to figure out the recipes in the books Kakarot had demanded he memorize.

Kakarot hadn't figured out that he didn't always understand the directions yet. Raditz chopped at a particularly stubborn weed, then shot an exasperated, concentrated ki beam at it. His mate knew he could copy down the recipes word for word from memory, but not that he didn't have a clue what some of them said to do. "Surely you can follow a simple recipe," he muttered, remembering last night's colossal failure, and the late night he'd had trying to figure out just where he'd gone wrong.

Tonight, they were having something he knew he couldn't screw up: grilled fish and corn cobs. That is, if the garden yielded enough corn cobs to feed the four of them. Er, five. He wasn't all that hungry, but he'd eat enough to be sure his cub got fed. If he wasn't pregnant, he wouldn't bother eating at all! He leaned against the hoe, glancing over at the father and son again. Had Goku stopped eating because taking care of him had been so stressful? Had the cooking and cleaning and gardening worn his brother down so that eating was just another chore?

At least Goku had known how to cook. Raditz sank down, sitting between the rows of beans he'd been hoeing. Goku had known a T from a tsp and a dry measure from a wet one. He'd known what herbs and spices made a meal taste better. He'd known what those goddamned abbreviations and cooking terms meant without having to look them up or ask - and he'd known where to look and who to ask, unlike himself. His stomach twisted sourly; a hand went hastily to stomach and mouth, his head dipping as he fought the urge to vomit. He'd done quite enough of that the last few weeks!

And why - since he was moping anyway - why did life insist that he have to start all over every time he started to figure out what his place was? Only child, big brother (not that he'd had anything to do with his brother before he died, but still!), one of millions, one of four, dead, alive and very confused about it, cared for, caretaker, alpha to his brother and beta to Vegeta, pregnant, unwanted… well, maybe that was normal. Where was he? Right. Rejected, that's were he'd been. Oh, wait, he'd forgotten the part where he'd been weakly bonded and then might-as-well-not-be-bonded to his brother. Then he hadn't been pregnant, and his brother hadn't been his brother… he'd been a father and then he hadn't been, and now he was going to be again, and he was beta to his brother's alpha instead of the other way around and he was a sick joke for the universe, wasn't he, because his brother, his mate, cared more for his cub than for him and their cub! He wanted cuddled!

Raditz decided he hated the hormonal swings his pregnancy was putting him through, and set about ridding himself of his woes by pretending they were the weeds left in the garden.

His mate was upset again. Kakarot spared him a glance, saw that he was weeding, and returned his attention to his son. His cub was upset again, too. Hell, he'd spent his own pregnancy in a state of absolute misery, not that either one of his mates had given a damn for him. But his cub had no mate to worry over him, and Raditz… well, Raditz still had another mate, anyhow, and Vegeta would eventually respond to his beta's desire for cosseting.

"Should I destroy him for you?" he asked.

Goten whimpered and cuddled closer, shaking his head. "I… chose him. I… it… I… it has to be… me? My choice to… to be rid of him?" He took another bite from his father's fingers.

Kakarot purred approvingly, offering another bite. "You haven't given up hope of acceptance yet."

"No…" Goten whispered, "I did. I have. I know that he'll… never accept me. I know that. Even though we were friends for so long, and lovers. I know he'll… never accept me as a mate. I just… ." The youth sighed, and slumped. "I keep thinking that… if being his whore is all he wants me to be, then that's… what I should be."

"A true beta," Kakarot growled softly. "You would be a fine mate, if you weren't my son."

"That's sick, Dad." Goten shifted uncomfortably, tail twitching irritably.

Kakarot snorted. "To E'arthlings, perhaps."

"Earthlings."

"Whatever. We are Saiyans, not of…." A small smile graced Kakarot's face. "Ah, but you are of this world, aren't you? Born here, and raised by your human mother because of my… illness."

"Actually, you were kinda dead, mostly."


End file.
